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.
This 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 |
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