Caesars Virginia sees about two million guests a year, and a new visitor center inside the casino is meant to drive those guests to Danville businesses and attractions.
The 600-square-foot space down a corridor that leads to the Caesars spa, pool and fitness center opened this week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Earlier this year, business owners in Danville’s River District, about 10 minutes from Caesars, said they were still waiting for the anticipated increase in foot traffic from casino visitors. Some stores and restaurants closer to Caesars said they had seen a slight boost in customers.
Both groups said they hope that the new center will drive more casino-goers to their businesses.
Such a place is often the first introduction that a traveler has to an area, said Val Guffy, managing director of consumer and partner services at the Virginia Tourism Corp.
“It’s a place for a visitor to ask, ‘What should I do while I’m here?’” Guffy said at the ceremony on Tuesday. “The Danville Visitor Center inside Caesars Virginia will provide guests with a convenient starting point to discover the restaurants, attractions, outdoor adventures and small businesses that make this community so exceptional.”
Inside the center there are brochures, souvenirs and merchandise for the region’s tourism brand, Visit SoSi.
There are also interactive ways for visitors to learn about the area. Digital kiosks provide information about local attractions, businesses and restaurants, and guests can create custom digital itineraries and send them to their phones, said Lisa Meriwether, Danville’s tourism manager.
This is something business owners have been waiting for since Caesars opened in 2024, said John Mason, who owns Foxglove Clothing.
Foxglove, a women’s boutique that sells clothing, accessories and gifts, is right across West Main Street from Caesars. In an April interview, Mason said that the store has seen some casino guests become regular customers, who often ask for recommendations for other places to visit in Danville.
With the visitor center open, they’ll be able to get that information easier, he said.
Cheryl Sutherland, who owns Main Street Art Collective in the River District, said in April that she hadn’t seen a big increase in foot traffic from Caesars guests. She was hoping that dedicated visitor center staff would be able to direct visitors to her business, and others, better than casino employees.
Main Street Art Collective in the River District sells mostly handmade products from more than 80 local artisans.
“Those people working in the visitor center know Danville, they know where to send people, and that’s imperative,” Sutherland said in an April interview. “The casino workers might just not know.”
Meriwether said that the center’s employees will float between the main visitor center on River Park Drive and the new Caesars location.
“Their mission is simple: help every visitor create a memorable experience and encourage them to stay just a little longer,” Meriwether said at the ceremony. “When guests extend their stays, everyone benefits. Our local businesses benefit, our attractions benefit, our community benefits and, most importantly, our guests leave with … a desire to return again and again.”
The Caesars visitor center will be collecting data on foot traffic through the space, Meriwether said in an interview after the ceremony. Based on that information, it might adjust its operating hours.
Right now, the space is open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“We’re going to be able to track, not only flow, but when people come in here,” Meriwether said. “Does 9 to 5 make sense? Maybe 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. would be better. We’ll track this for months, and we may adjust.”
The visitor center is the latest in a series of concentrated efforts around tourism in the region. The Visit SoSi brand launched in 2023, two years after Danville re-established its tourism department, which had been cut in an effort to reduce expenses in 2012.
Tourism efforts have been successful lately, and the Visit SoSi region has been the fastest-growing locality for visitor spending for two consecutive years, according to data from the Virginia Tourism Corp.
Officials said they hope that the Caesars location will continue that growth.
“When you’re looking for a place to open a visitor center, a building that has already welcomed millions of visitors seems like a pretty good choice,” Mayor Alonzo Jones said at the ceremony.
