Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing
Waterford, VA (PRWEB) March 11, 2015 -- Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership received $25,000 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program grant fund. In total VTC awarded more than $773,000 for 51 tourism marketing projects across the state to help increase visitation and revenue for Virginia’s localities through tourism.
The grants are designed to help local and regional tourism entities attract more visitors by leveraging local marketing dollars, and will ultimately impact at least 229 other statewide tourism entities. The local organizations match the state grant funds by a minimum of 2:1 in order to support marketing projects. This funding cycle, the local partners will match the VTC grant dollars with more than $2.2 million, providing $3 million in new marketing to increase visitation to Virginia.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership received a $25,000 grant for its American Ideal Research & Marketing Project. The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership collaborated with Visit Loudoun, Discover Prince William & Manassas, Orange County Tourism and Visitors Bureau, and Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau in Virginia as well as the Tourism Council of Frederick County and Hagerstown-Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau in Maryland and Destination Gettysburg in Pennsylvania to supply matching funds.
The VTC Marketing Leverage Program is designed to stimulate new tourism marketing through partnerships by leveraging limited marketing dollars, resulting in increased visitor spending. A minimum of three entities must partner financially to apply and may consist of Virginia towns, cities, counties, convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, other local or regional destination marketing organizations, private businesses, museums, attractions, cultural events, and other not-for-profit entities.
“These grants give local tourism businesses the tools they need to succeed in an overly-competitive market,” said Governor McAuliffe. “The Marketing Leverage Program grants provide an avenue for community partnerships to form, smart business decisions to be made, and tourism success stories to be told. This program is an important part of the New Virginia Economy, and helps to provide good jobs for our citizens and revenue for our communities.”
“These grants are a powerful and innovative tool for small businesses across the state,” said Maurice Jones, Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “Tourism is an important contributor to Virginia’s economy, and these tourism marketing initiatives will help to attract new visitors to the Commonwealth. Continuing to support our diverse economy will help to ensure that Virginia remains one of the best places to live, work, play, and raise a family.”
The grant will allow the Journey Through Hallowed Ground to conduct a national traveler survey and produce a one-hour film for public broadcasting. Destination Analysts will conduct an online benchmarking survey of American leisure travelers who have an interest in national history and heritage. The film project will produced and directed by Jake Boritt for public television broadcast across the country in 2016, the Centennial of the National Park Service.
Tourism is an instant revenue generator for Virginia. In 2013, tourism generated $21.5 billion in revenue, supported 213,000 jobs and provided $1.42 billion in state and local taxes. Dollars invested in tourism are proven to provide a 5:1 return in tax revenue for Virginia, and the grant awards and matching funds provide a stimulus to localities seeking to increase tourism visitation and revenue.
For more information about the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, visit http://www.HallowedGround.org or call 540-882-4929.
The Journey, The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, +1 (540) 882-4929, [email protected]
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