Virginia Tourism and Local Leaders Participate in FAM Tour

Recently, 17 representatives from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC), along with The Harvest Foundation President Allyson Rothrock, Harvest board member David Stone, and Delegate Les Adams and his Legislative Director Richard Crouse
 participated in a FAM (familiarization) Tour that included seven stops in Martinsville-Henry County.

The tour included stops at New College Institute’s Building on Baldwin, a guided tour of the Virginia Museum of Natural History, a guided tour of Piedmont Arts, a tour of the Smith River Sports Complex, a visit to Dippers Homemade Ice Cream, a visit to Philpott Overlook and Marina, a drive through tour of Bassett, a wine tasting at Hamlet Vineyards and a drive through tour of Fieldale.

This tour was an opportunity for staff of the Virginia Welcome Centers and the VTC Marketing staff to learn more about what all Martinsville-Henry County has to offer in order to better market this area to Virginia travelers.

According to Cindy Brown, assistant tourism relations manager at the Virginia Welcome Center in
Skippers, “The FAM tour just made me want to come back and explore more. And now, our firsthand knowledge will make it so much easier to describe your area, and suggest itineraries to our visitors traveling your way.”

“This FAM tour was a fantastic opportunity to educate the staff of the Virginia welcome centers on some of the many exciting locations for travelers to visit in Martinsville-Henry County. By showing the group some of the places they had previously only seen in pictures, it offers them the chance to give testimonials to their guests about the endless tourism opportunities in Martinsville-Henry County,” Chloe Mayhew, MHC EDC’s group sales coordinator, said.

According to Jennifer Doss, Director of Tourism for Martinsville-Henry County, “The response from our tour participants has been incredible and from their feedback we know that the sights, sounds and tastes they experienced while visiting our area will leave a lasting positive impression.”

For more information about group tours, please contact Mayhew at 276.403.5948 or CMayhew@YesMartinsville.com.