It looks as though the Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) will be undergoing some major changes in Prince William.
The CVB is currently operated as an entity separate from the Prince William County government, and is run under the moniker of Discover Prince William & Manassas.
According to a statement from Discover Prince William’s Director of Marketing & Communications Dan Cook, the CVB’s Board of Directors voted on July 17 to merge the organization into the county government structure.
The vote passed with seven in favor and four against.
“The Prince William County Board of Supervisors is expected to hear the proposed plan on Tuesday, August 1st which recommends that the current President/CEO, Ann Marie Maher, and her team remain a unit operating as the Office of Tourism within the County’s Department of Parks and Recreation beginning October 1, 2017. The plan also recommends the establishment of a Tourism Advisory Board made up of Prince William County tourism industry leaders and eliminates the inter-jurisdictional agreement with the City of Manassas. The plan would not preclude continued collaboration with the City and any other mutually beneficial public or private partnership opportunities,” stated a release.
This was all set in motion following an operation audit conducted in 2016 by County Executive Christopher Martino and CVB/Discover Prince William CEO Ann Marie Maher.
More on the audit and its results, from a release:
The objective of the operational audit was to evaluate the CVB’s control environment, analyze the transient occupancy tax and determine if the CVB has maintained compliance with its MOU (referring to the 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between the CVB and the County). The audit gathered sufficient evidence to support the CVB’s compliance with each section of the MOU. Observations were made with recommendations in the following three areas being deemed as high importance to business success/achievement of goals to the CVB:
1.) Restructure Board Governance
2.) Renew Memorandum of Understanding
3.) Enhance Finance and Accounting Procedures
“It is clear that Prince William County recognizes and values the CVB’s award winning, recently accredited result-oriented team and programs. We have a shared vision to continue growing tourism for Prince William County. The proposed plan follows successful tourism government models, maximizes economies of scale, builds upon synergies and ultimately focuses more staff time and resources to tourism marketing activities. No matter what is decided, the goal and focus are to meet the needs of County businesses who rely on tourism and maximize return on investment,” stated Maher in a release.
The CVB, while restructured under the county, will continue tourism, marketing, and communications promotional efforts for the county, according to a release.
No specifics on how the transition will take place have been released, as of yet.
