VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Mayor Bobby Dyer is bullish on this year's tourist season, which features eight new events including the return of the Something in the Water Music Festival following a four year hiatus.
On Wednesday, SITW announced the artist line-up for the festival and just a few hours later Mayor Dyer delivered his State of the City address to members of the business community.
"They wanted to get the top performers. They took a little time, but they got the word out now. It's going to be a success. We know that," Dyer said following his speech.
Dyercited a report from the Convention and Visitors Bureau that found in 2021 the travel industry had an economic impact of more than $3 billion and created more than 31,000 jobs.
"We want people to know that Virginia Beach is back. We're going to have more things that are going to have attractions for everybody," said Dyer.
The Convention and Visitors Bureau is marketing the city up and down the East Coast this year. Their campaign is inviting people to come to Virginia Beach.
"It's now time to be showing people they need to come to Virginia Beach right now," said Nancy Helman, the CVB's director.
In addition to Something in the Water, there are other new events coming as well, including an action sports festival called Jackelope. Celebrity skater Tony Hawk will be on-hand for the festival in June.
The city is hoping to expand its tourism footprint once again this year.
"That's what we want. We want to capture that positivity in a bottle and spread it all over Virginia Beach for the whole year. It's going to start with Something in the Water," said Dyer.
The festival runs from April 28 to 30.
