Home McAuliffe announces $967,000 in matching grants for 50 local tourism programs
Local

McAuliffe announces $967,000 in matching grants for 50 local tourism programs

Contributors

Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced more than $967,000 in matching grant funds to be awarded to 50 local tourism initiatives as part of the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s (VTC) Marketing Leverage Program.

virginiaThis grant program helps local and regional tourism entities attract more visitors by leveraging limited local marketing dollars through a local match of the state grants funds. This funding cycle, local partners will commit more than $2.9 million to match the VTC grants, providing nearly $3.9 million in new marketing funds to increase visitation to Virginia. The grants will impact 202 other statewide tourism entities.

“Today, we are making a strategic investment in one of Virginia’s most important and growing industries,” said Governor Terry McAuliffe. “Tourism is the Commonwealth’s fifth largest industry, and every dollar spent on new product development means economic growth, jobs, and improved quality of life for Virginia families. The Marketing Leverage Program grants fund innovative marketing initiatives for tourism entities across the Commonwealth, helping them to promote Virginia as a premier travel destination.”

The VTC Marketing Leverage Program is designed to increase visitor spending by stimulating new tourism marketing through partnerships and extending the “Virginia is for Lovers” brand.  A minimum of three Virginia entities must partner financially to apply for a grant. Partners may consist of Virginia cities, towns, counties, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, other local or regional destination marketing organizations, private businesses, museums, attractions, cultural events, and other tourism-related businesses. In total, VTC awards approximately $1.7 million annually, which is matched and leveraged on average three to one by partner dollars.

“The Marketing Leverage Program grants are an important way to support our nationally- and internationally-acclaimed tourism industry,” said Todd Haymore, Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “Last year, tourism generated a record $24 billion in revenue, which supported 230,000 jobs and contributed $1.7 billion in state and local taxes, and helped spark growth in all regions of the Commonwealth. Tourism is a sound investment for the Commonwealth, and these funds provide a critical stimulus to localities seeking to increase tourism visitation and revenue.”

A full list of Marketing Leverage Program grant recipients can be found below. The next round of VTC Marketing Leverage Program grants are now open, with a December 5, 2017 deadline.

Localities interested in applying may visit www.vatc.org for more information.

 

Program Name Lead Partner Award Amount
A Moving Experience Heart of Appalachia Tourism Authority

 

$50,000
Alexandria 360 Alexandria Convention & Visitors Association

 

$49,821
America’s Historic Triangle Marketing and  New Booking Platform Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, Inc. $25,000
Art in Appalachia, Appalachia in the World William King Museum of Art

 

 

$5,000
Art in the Valley Fall Foliage Festival Art Show

 

$4,142.50
Birthplace of Country Music – Digital Marketing Campaign Birthplace of Country Music

 

 

$25,000
Connecting Weddings to Southwest Virginia Joint IDA of Wythe County

 

 

$4,763
Cycle Floyd Floyd County Tourism Office

 

$10,000
Destination Harrisonburg Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance

 

$50,000
Developing Itineraries to Enhance Virginia’s Rural Coastal Visitation Artisans Center of Virginia

 

 

$5,000
Discover Bristol Marketing Campaign Bristol Convention & Visitors Bureau

 

$25,000
Elegantly English in Staunton American Shakespeare Center

 

$6,892
Enrich Your Adventure Tazewell County

 

$10,000
Expanded Website for Wytheville There’s Only One Wytheville Convention & Visitors Bureau

 

 

$25,000
Experience Danville Pittsylvania County Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce

 

$5,000
Find It In Farmville Town of Farmville

 

$2,500
Find it in Radford 2018 Radford Tourism

 

$4,897
Floyd Yoga Jam 2017 The Floyd Yoga Jam

 

$5,000
Galax – Small Town, Big Adventures City of Galax Tourism Office

 

$6,666.50
Harbor for the Arts Summer Festival Citizens for Central Park

 

$2,100
Jagged Edge Motorcycle Trail Jagged Edge LLC.

 

$5,000
Kairos Resort Marketing Campaign Kairos Resort

 

$10,000
LanternAsia: Art by Day, Magic by Night! Norfolk Botanical Garden

 

 

$25,000
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway

 

$50,000
Meeting Incentive Program Staunton Convention and Visitors Bureau

 

$10,000
Mountains of Music Homecoming – Building on Success The Crooked Road

 

 

$50,000
Never Stop Playing: Earned Media Campaign Abingdon Convention and Visitors Bureau

 

 

$25,000
Norfolk Festevents Waterfront Marketing Initiative 2017 Norfolk Festevents, Ltd.

 

 

$25,000
Passport to a Shenandoah Beerwerks Adventure City of Waynesboro Economic Development & Tourism

 

$22,230
Play and Stay: Making it Easy to Plan Your Next Adventure in Abingdon Barter Theatre

 

 

$23,333
Promoting Ecotourism in the Virginia’s Western Highlands Bath County Office of Tourism

 

 

$5,000
Resonant Frequencies: Sound Arts Richmond Richmond Performing Arts Alliance

 

 

$14,875
Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival Rooster Walk Inc.

 

$19,541
Shenandoah Spirits Trail Shendandoah County

 

$36,007
Showcasing the Blue Ridge Parkway – Phase Two Primland

 

 

$50,000
Southern Gap Outdoor Adventure: Plan Your Mountain Adventure Southern Gap Outdoor Adventure

 

 

$15,750
Southwest Virginia New Content Generation & Database Program Friends of Southwest Virginia

 

 

$50,000
Terra Floyd Pottery Tour Wrenn Pottery

 

$750
The 70th Anniversary Green Top Outdoor Expo Green Top Sporting Goods

 

 

$50,000
The 8th Annual Festy Experience The Festy Experience LLC.

 

$10,327
Thomas Jefferson Wine Festival Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest

 

$5,000
Today’s Shenandoah Valley Takes Flight Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission

 

$25,000
Urbanna Oyster Festival – VIP Oyster Lovers Experience County of Middlesex Virginia

 

 

$2,562.50
Virginia Craft Brewers Fest Hosted By Three Notch’d Brewing Company Three Notch’d Brewing Company

 

 

$9,500
Virginia is for Lake Lovers/”Mobilizing” Smith Mountain Lake Campaign Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce

 

 

$3,034
Visit Culpeper | Travels with Darley Town of Culpeper Tourism and Economic Development

 

$50,000
Visit the Ferry Landing District in Colonial Beach Northern Neck Tourism Commission

 

 

$10,000
Visit The Home Of The World’s Best Bourbon A. Smith Bowman Distillery

 

 

$30,000
Visit Wise County Digital Content Development Wise County

 

 

$10,000
Watermen’s Way Town of Kilmarnock

 

$2,500
TOTAL $967,191.50

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.