Nov. 20–ARLINGTON — With two major sports venues and a variety of family-friendly entertainment options, filling Arlington’s hotels on the weekends isn’t a problem.

But to bring in more sales and hotel occupancy taxes and help grow Arlington’s economy, the city needs to do more to attract business travelers and tourists during the week days, Experience Arlington President Ronnie Price said.

That’s why Experience Arlington, the city’s contracted tourism marketer, announced several new initiatives at its annual luncheon Wednesday aimed at luring new conventions and meetings, amateur sports and even international tourists from Canada and Mexico.

“To grow as a destination, we need people visiting Arlington and filling our hotel rooms on a more consistent basis,” Price said.

Part of the group’s strategy will be to hire a vice president for convention sales, which is a new position, to help book new weekday events and business meetings at the Arlington Convention Center, located in the entertainment district.

Experience Arlington will also work to attract more amateur youth sporting events and competitions to draw families to town, Price said.

Experience Arlington has also begun developing relationships with airlines and travel agencies to promote the city as a destination for travelers from Mexico and Canada. Part of the group’s expanded tourism marketing will also includes highlighting attractions outside of the city limits, such as popular destinations in Dallas and Fort Worth, for broader appeal.

Arlington, which is centrally located in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, is about 8 miles from D/FW Airport.

“We will now include the region as part of the story. We know it is not smart to sell a traveler just on what we have in Arlington,” Price said. “We have such great attractions around us.”

Experience Arlington and the city are also working with consultant Mindset Brands Destinations to develop a new brand designed to promote tourism, economic development and a sense of pride among residents and businesses.

Arlington is spending $50,000 and Experience Arlington is spending $60,000 on the branding initiative, expected to be unveiled next spring.

Susan Schrock, 817-390-7639 Twitter: @susanschrock