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Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) has released What’s New in 2022, the agency’s curated guide to what is new and noteworthy for the travel industry for the coming year. The guide is produced annually and offers a regional look at what’s to come each year.
To view the full What’s New in 2022 guide, or past guides from previous years, visit the Virginia Tourism Press Room at virginia.org.
Highlights in 2022 from around the region:
The Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond will complete a nearly $30 million renovation project in spring 2022. The renewed museum complex will include multiple new exhibition spaces, an immersive orientation theater and an interactive learning space for families, along with numerous other offerings. A new exhibit titled Our Commonwealth will debut with the reopening. This extensive marquee exhibition will provide an in-depth, multi-sensory exploration through the five major regions of Virginia.
2022 marks the 250th commemoration of Shenandoah County and the 100th year celebration of Shenandoah Caverns. Festivities throughout the year will include a Birthday Bash reception with reenactors in March; a multi-town Independence Day Weekend in July; Time Capsule opening, Olde Style Ale Brewery collaboration; and a celebratory event in September under the theme of “Honoring our Past ~ Inspiring our Future.”
Busch Gardens Pantheon®, the Fastest Multi-launch Coaster in North America, debuts in March 2022 in Williamsburg.
Kings Dominion outside Richmond will debut Virginia’s first 4D Spin Coaster in spring 2022. Tumbili features state-of-the-art magnetic technology that induces and controls spinning, giving riders a feeling of weightlessness.
The Back of the Dragon, Virginia’s only designated motorcycle route and the premier riding road on the East Coast, will offer a new scenic overlook at Hungry Mother State Park and a new Welcome Center in Tazewell.
Blue Ridge Discovery Center opens summer 2022 at its new campus in Troutdale, Smyth County. The family-friendly center is your gateway to the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area – home of numerous wild ponies! – with ADA-compliant walking trails through the restored wetlands area, and interpretive programs for all ages.
I Love You, the latest temporary art installation on Old Town Alexandria’s waterfront, will be a luminous declaration of affection from the city to the public, creating a photo-ready postcard of Alexandria which represents the city’s welcoming spirit and a message of hope through the COVID-19 pandemic. The new exhibit opens in March and runs through November 2022.
The Poe Museum, located in Richmond’s Shockoe Bottom neighborhood, is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2022. Celebrations and events will occur April – October 2022, with April 26 being the actual 100th anniversary date. Celebratory events will include a Poe-Rade, a ‘Masqued Ball’ in honor of Poe’s short story The Masque of the Red Death, and the ever-popular monthly UnHappy Hours. The museum also has received a major gift of Poe artifacts which will be unveiled in early 2022.
The work of world-renowned artist, architect and environmental advocate Maya Lin will be featured in a special solo exhibit entitled Ways of Water at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach in 2022. Highlighted by some never-before-exhibited sculptures and prints, the installation focuses on environmental concerns of the region and asks visitors to reconsider their relationship with nature.
Virginia is now recognized for eight American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) with the recent addition of the Virginia Peninsula AVA. Bound by the James and York River estuaries, the narrow AVA runs about 50 miles in length, toward Richmond, making for a unique growing region for a few of Virginia’s more than 300 wineries.
Richmond, one of Virginia’s top foodie destinations, will open numerous new restaurants and breweries including Hatch Local Food Hall in early 2022, a curated collection of local food vendors in Richmond’s Manchester neighborhood. The food hall will contain seven local vendors, two bars, a market and outdoor patio and courtyard.
The historic Liberty Trust building in downtown Roanoke will reopen as the new boutique Liberty Trust Hotel in early 2022. The development company has teamed up with Roanoke’s own Black Dog Salvage to preserve some of the building’s original architectural details, including the historic bank’s safe, which will factor in to the property’s design.
A new AKA luxury property will open in July 2022 in Old Town Alexandria. Designed for longer stays, AKA balances the space and comfort of a fully appointed luxury apartment with the style and hospitality of an intimate hotel.
ARCHER® Hotel Tysons opened late 2021, while ARCHER Hotel Falls Church, in the Mosaic District, will open early 2022. The new properties are only the seventh and eighth for the award-winning boutique brand that places major emphasis on local discoveries, with distinct nods to the destination each property calls home, including plenty of examples of our famous Virginia is for Lovers brand.
Nicewonder Farm & Vineyards in Bristol will be opening the Nicewonder Inn in early 2022. This 28-room luxury boutique inn will boast inviting common areas, a world-class culinary and wine program, and beautifully appointed rooms ranging from 325ft to 650ft, highlighted by a 1200 sq. ft. “presidential” suite, all overlooking some of the most beautiful scenery on property.
Casino resorts are coming to Virginia. Late 2022 / early 2023 will see the opening of a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Bristol, the official Birthplace of Country Music, and Ceasars Entertainment will open a casino resort in Danville in late 2023. Two more casinos are approved and in the planning stages to open in 2023, Headwaters Resort & Casino in Norfolk and Rivers Casino Portsmouth.
The Dulles Corridor Metrorail expansion project by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) is in its final testing stage. The new section of the Silver Line will connect Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia to downtown DC, and points further in Virginia, and is expected to open in the first half of 2022, making it even easier for passengers to travel around the region.
Amazon announced and shared exciting details about their headquarters coming to northern Virginia. Learn more and view the images in Amazon’s statement here.
Discover more new offerings for 2022 at our online Press Room at Virginia.org.