Virginia is for Lovers and Camp Cardinal RV Resort is proving it this season. Camp Cardinal RV Resort received a $2,500 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC)’s Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program (MMLP) for its Winter Weekend Romantic Escape package.
Camp Cardinal has long showcased its lodging as a peak season destination. While the camping opportunities are open yearlong, the cottage and cabins on site typically close from November to April. As part of the Winter Weekend Romantic Escape package Camp Cardinal will keep its cozy and rustic cabins open during the traditional off-season for couples to curate a weekend away.
“This special package is one more way we are working to showcase the scenic beauty of the winter landscape of the campground and the solitude that comes from visiting in the shoulder season,” said Stephanie Heinatz of Consociate Media, Camp Cardinal’s marketing arm. “This initiative will help to position Camp Cardinal – and Gloucester Point – as a year-round destination. Besides, let’s face it, the warmth of a campfire just hits different in winter.”
The Winter Weekend Romantic Escape package will be available for booking by February 2025 and open through April 2025. The package will feature rustic, cozy accommodations, as well as curated romantic outdoor activities that celebrate the winter season along the Chesapeake Bay’s Middle Peninsula. Think stargazing and cooking over an open fire.
Escape packages will also feature additional local businesses, including RiverMutt Ice Cream, on site of Camp Cardinal, YROC Coastal Bar and Grill and Creekside Café and Market.
Virginia Tourism Corporation awarded more than more than $581,607 in matching grant funds to 108 marketing programs, ultimately impacting 432 combined partners, and supporting more than 1,050 full-time and part-time jobs across the commonwealth. This funding cycle, local partners committed more than $700,168 in private-public sector funds to match the VTC funding, providing more than $1.29 million in new marketing activity to help increase off-season visitation to Virginia’s small tourism-oriented businesses and events.
“The Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program is part of VTC’s strategy to grow year-round visitation in Virginia and is designed to support small tourism businesses with marketing dollars to drive out-of-state visitation during off-peak travel seasons,” said Rita McClenny, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation. “This program serves as a gateway for small businesses to engage with VTC’s marketing and development ecosystem to grow their business and build on the Virginia is for Lovers branding.”
