America’s 250th anniversary will be celebrated in hundreds of places across 50 states this summer, but probably none more fitting than Williamsburg, Virginia. This Colonial-era favorite can expect massive visitation during the nation’s landmark year and will be a focal point for travelers from around the globe who want to experience the excitement of this red, white and blue occasion.
Williamsburg will also host this year’s Select Traveler Conference, February 15–17.
“Our delegates are going to feel very special to be there for sure,” said Jennifer Ferguson, general manager of the Select Traveler Conference. “Williamsburg is such a well-known American destination that previewing the excitement of our country’s 250th birthday there will provide a lasting memory for anyone attending this year’s conference.”
The area’s early American history is famous in Colonial Williamsburg, but the entire region serves to illustrate this chapter in our nation’s development. Virginia’s Historic Triangle, which includes Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown, preserves many original English settlements that are among America’s most revered destinations. These centerpieces have fascinated travelers for centuries. Dating to 1632, Colonial Williamsburg alone features dozens of 18th-century structures and illustrates the period using authentically dressed interpreters who offer personal encounters with our country’s Colonial heritage.
Sightseeing and Social Highlights
“America’s 250th anniversary celebration in Williamsburg and the Historic Triangle is going to be memorable, and attendees will get a wonderful glimpse of it,” said Ally Ramello, group sales manager for Visit Williamsburg. “Colonial Williamsburg offers a day-to-day living history experience, and visitors this year will learn so much about American life 250 years ago.
“We have a fun opening evening planned for everyone,” Ramello said. “We’ll have a reception at Williamsburg Lodge followed by what we’re calling A Patriotic Event, with live music by the Good Shot Judy band. We want all our delegates to wear red, white and blue and come ready to enjoy each other’s company and this great band. Williamsburg Lodge will be the headquarters hotel for our delegates.”
Delegates who have not been to Virginia’s Historic Triangle in a few years will find a new appreciation for its dramatic depiction of Colonial history.
“We’re offering sightseeing tours on the second afternoon of the conference that will include Colonial Williamsburg, our Muscarelle Museum of Art that is affiliated with the College of William and Mary, and some Jamestown highlights,” Ramello said. “Our post tour for buyers after the conference features Yorktown and the Yorktown Battlefield national park, the Williamsburg Winery and Kingsmill Resort.”
Key Sessions and Marketplace Appointments
The Select Traveler Conference features six-minute appointment sessions to assure a dynamic business atmosphere between buyers and sellers. New buyers who have not attended similar marketplaces will find the sales format fast-paced but effective for meeting with numerous destinations over the event’s three days. Sellers do not burden planners with literature in the marketplace; follow-up takes place after the event, primarily with digital resources.
“Business appointments are the bottom line at the Select Traveler Conference,” Ferguson said. “Destinations come to book groups, and buyers come to build their bottom lines. This is where the rubber meets the road.”
This year’s keynote speaker is Brian Jewell, CEO and executive editor of The Group Travel Leader Inc., a Lexington, Kentucky-based media company that publishes three national magazines: The Group Travel Leader, Select Traveler and Going On Faith. Jewell also produces and hosts the company’s international podcast, Gather & Go.
The keynote address takes place on Sunday afternoon, February 15. Jewell’s presentation is titled, “Untapped: Travel’s hidden power to solve people’s deepest problems.”
“Far beyond sightseeing and souvenirs, today’s consumers are looking for experiences to meet deeper needs and fulfill deeper desires,” said Jewell, a frequent speaker to industry groups throughout the country. “This session will explore how tourism professionals can leverage their undiscovered potential to deliver transformational experiences and create lifelong customers.”
The buyer breakout session in Williamsburg takes place early on Sunday afternoon and will be moderated by two veteran travel planners who have attended the conference numerous times over their careers. Karen Noble of Good News Travels in Sullivan, Indiana, and Donna Adams, of Grace Tours in Wichita Falls, Texas, will lead the discussions for all travel planners in attendance. Topics to be covered include trends in group travel management, emerging destinations for groups, selecting travel vendors and tour operators, marketing trips, and others.
“This traditional session at the Select Traveler Conference serves as a great kickoff for many buyers’ years,” said conference partner Mac Lacy. “Its most notable feature for attendees is its structure that allows travel planners to compare notes with other planners in a non-competitive environment. Many lasting Select Traveler friendships have begun at a table in this breakout session.”
Dynamic Draw
Williamsburg and the surrounding area are proving their merits as a nationally known travel destination for leisure groups, as registrations for the conference are running well up over 2025.
“Our buyer attendance is 20% ahead of last year’s conference, which is exciting for our destination delegates and speaks volumes about Williamsburg as a host city,” Ferguson said. “I’m sure we have travel planners who want to refresh their itineraries in Virginia’s Historic Triangle, and this conference offers them a perfect opportunity to come do that. America’s 250th anniversary’s ties to this area makes attending a smart business decision for those buyers.”
Ramello sees the significance of hosting this group prior to many of the activities on tap in her destination for America’s 250th celebration.
“Our area’s celebration of America’s 250th anniversary presents a real opportunity for these travel planners,” she said. “For instance, we’ve created the Great American Birthday Quilt, a nationally publicized quilting event that will interest tour groups. We’ve invited citizens across America to submit a quilt block for inclusion in a huge, finished quilt. When completed, it will be displayed at the Colonial Williamsburg Visitors Center.” For details, go to visitwilliamsburg.com/Williamsburg-250.
“For information on celebrating the founding of Jamestown in May 1607 at any number of group-friendly events this year, go to jyfmuseums.org/events. For information on Sail 250 Virginia, a historic sailing vessel event, visit sail250virginia.com. The three-day celebration of historic sailing vessels includes a replica of the Godspeed, one of the original ships to arrive in Jamestown in 1607 that is based at Jamestown Settlement,” Ramello said.
“On July 4, in Williamsburg, we’ll host a celebration unlike any other in the country,” she added. “It will be centered on internationally known Duke of Gloucester Street, a living outdoor museum setting, and will include music, fireworks from the Governor’s Palace and many other activities that groups will never forget.”
