Rather than being classified as Central Virginia, Charlottesville may soon be in Virginia’s Piedmont region. Photo: Albemarle County.
The Virginia Tourism Corporation currently divides the Commonwealth into 10 distinct regions, from the Southwest Heart of Appalachia to the Coastal Virginia Eastern Shore.
“Tourism regions are established by and for the VTC solely to organize the tourism product in a defined geographic area and to present that information to the consumer through a variety of media platforms in an orderly, accurate, consistent, and uniform format,” reads the VTC’s guidelines for these areas.
The Charlottesville area is included within the Central Virginia district along with the Richmond area, including places like Sussex County close to the Tidewater. Various tourism and economic development officials would like to make an adjustment.
On Wednesday, December 3, the Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors will be asked to adopt a resolution to formally request that the VTC create a new designation called Virginia’s Piedmont that would cover the same 11 localities as Go Virginia Region 9, a public-private partnership that promotes economic development through various incentives.
“With this shift, our area stands apart from Richmond, defining a new Piedmont Virginia brand that raises awareness of our distinctive features and characteristics, as well as shift Virginia Tourism Corporation resources towards recognizing and studying our region separately from the Richmond region,” said Courtney Cacatian, the executive director of the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau.
For instance, Cacatian said the Richmond area attracts many visitors for sporting events, something the Charlottesville area does not really share, aside from the University of Virginia. A distinct Piedmont region would allow more detailed work to capitalize on strengths and build on weaknesses.
The CACVB Board will take up the request at its meeting on December 15. The deadline for the change to be considered for 2026 is February 1.
The new tourism region would also encompass some places currently lumped in with Northern Virginia, including Culpeper, Fauquier, and Rappahannock counties. The resolution argues that these areas would be better served if they joined their southern neighbors in a district that would span southward to Nelson County.
“These localities share strong cultural, historical, and natural tourism assets, including presidential estates, the Monticello American Viticultural Area, Shenandoah National Park, vibrant small towns, and rich agricultural landscapes,” reads a staff report for the meeting.
The resolution argues the localities share the Blue Ridge Mountains and a landscape increasingly known for producing wine. In November 2023, Wine Enthusiast named the area Wine Region of the Year.
In recent years, Go Virginia Region 9 has invested $324,125 in two studies to identify ways to take the industry to another level. The VTC has multiple grant programs that could help implement some of the ideas.
“By establishing an officially recognized Virginia Piedmont tourism region, VTC and localities can better coordinate marketing, improve data collection, enhance targeted investment, and strengthen the Commonwealth’s statewide tourism strategy,” the staff report for the Fluvanna meeting continues.
Go Virginia Region 9’s growth plan for 2025 identifies five industries to target with food and beverage manufacturing as one of them.
