Virginia tourism giving prizes to visitors in May

You might be able to win front-of-the-line passes to Busch Gardens in Virginia's May tourism sweepstakes. (AP)

If you are thinking about taking a trip to Virginia this Spring, this might be your incentive to start booking now.

Virginia tourism officials are hoping to lure in visitors with a sweepstakes that include prizes such as a stay at Virginia Beach, overnight at the Virginia Aquarium, front-of-the-line passes at Busch Gardens and an overnight stay in Colonial Williamsburg. Airfare, car rental and several meals are included.

Every 100,000 visitors to www.Virginia.org/OneInAMillion during May will unlock a new level of prizes, according to the Virginia Tourism Corp., the state's travel and tourism promotion office.

The sweepstakes, which begins Tuesday and runs through May 31, hopes to draw 1 million visitors to the state's website in May, and will giving away bigger prizes as they get closer to that goal.

"The more people who enter the contest and share the website, the more chances to win," the state tourism office said in a statement, "and the prizes get bigger and better," Virginia Tourism Corp.'s Tamra Talmadge-Anderson told the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In the spring — prime vacation planning time for Virginia travel — the state's tourism website typically has 600,000-650,000 visitors a month, Talmadge-Anderson said.

People can enter up to 10 times by visiting the site and sharing the link on social media.