The City of Manassas saw $54 million in visitor spending in 2021, a 14.5% increase from pre-pandemic levels and up 36% from 2021.
Tourism is a major contributor to the Manassas economy, supporting about 460 jobs with an annual payroll of $13.6 million. It also generates $2.4 million in local taxes.
More than 370,000 people visited Historic Manassas last year.
Nearby Civil War battlefields are a big draw. The Manassas National Battlefield Park draws more than 1 million visitors a year from around the world. But the historic downtown are also is a big draw, and in part because of its many yearlong events.
“There is something going on in Manassas almost every weekend. Our Fourth of July fireworks display is the largest in Northern Virginia, our Christmas parade is the longest, our St. Patrick’s Day and Veteran’s Day parades have been run by nonprofits for years and are a huge draw. We also do a lot of festivals and events,” said Patrick J. Small, director of economic development for the City of Manassas.
Historic Manassas also benefits from First Friday events, and it has an outdoor drinking permit that allows bars and restaurants to sell alcohol in to-go cups so customers can drink openly within a designated downtown area.
The big battlefields are outside of the Manassas city limits, though there are notable Civil War attractions within the city, including Cannon Branch and Mayfield forts, and Liberia House, the only known place where both presidents of the Union and Confederacy met to confer with their generals.
The Manassas Museum, which tells the history of Manassas, is currently undergoing a multimillion dollar renovation, and will be completed in 2023, in time for Manassas’ 150th anniversary.
“Manassas began as a railroad junction. Manassas was not a city or town during the Civil War. It was key to both the Union and Confederacy because of the fact that the North-South East-West railways crossed here in Manassas, and that is what they were fighting for at the battlefield just outside the city limits,” Small said.
Manassas, a city of 41,000, is also a racially diverse city. Hispanics make up about 43% of the population and 11% is African American.
“And our events reflect that. We have a Latino festival in downtown, we have a Salvadoran festival. Our businesses are as diverse as there are people and nations in the world,” Small said.
