Tourism For All

"Tourism for All" is our guiding mission to welcome all visitors, improve the quality of life for residents, support a robust tourism ecosystem, and drive overnight visitation through innovation and collaboration.

Our vision is to create a better quality of life for residents by being the most inclusive, diverse, welcoming, thriving destination for visitors in the Southeast and to uphold the values of resiliency, unity, diversity, creativity, and responsibility, and let these ideals lead the work we do.

This starts by working with you — our tourism and hospitality partners — to help make Charlottesville and Albemarle County an inclusive and welcoming destination to all travelers!

First, familiarize yourself with Tourism for All! Watch the Overview of our Tourism for All Work, why we're doing it, and what resources are available to you as a business.

We also encourage you to familiarize yourself with the research we've gathered around Black and Hispanic travelers, as well as travelers with disabilities. You will find more research and resources in the tabs further down this page.

In 2023, we launched our first Tourism for All Cohort. Participants joined a training program where they learned about the pillars of Tourism for All. In February 2024, we hosted the first annual Tourism for All Conference — a free day-long seminar for tourism and community partners!

Join other partners in the local tourism industry as we explore four welcoming pillars including internal practices for attraction and retention, welcoming customer service, meaningful community partnerships, and inclusive promotion. You'll also receive support in creating a welcoming statement and year-long action plan to put your learning into practice.

Applications for Cohort 2 are open now closed. Stay tuned for next year's application date in 2025.

Have you ever thought about leading a tour of Charlottesville and Albemarle County? Are there stories and histories within our community that you would like to tell? Do you have expertise in one the sectors of our local tourism industry – like wine, outdoor recreation, culinary offerings, or history?

If you answered “yes” to any one of these questions, we encourage you to take advantage of our new free Tour Guide Training course.

Since beginning our Tourism for All work in 2021, we have worked with partners like TripAdvisor, Wheel the World, and Destinations International to conduct research and host webinars and trainings for our partners. You can explore these resources below.