On Friday, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced that 104 local tourism programs will receive more than $625,000 in matching grant funds to boost the period between peak and off-peak season travel across the state, supporting Virginia’s continued growth as an all-season tourism destination.
Among those are two $5,000 grants, one awarded to the Gloucester Main Street Association and the other to Mathews County.
The $627,877 in awards is funded through three Virginia Tourism Corporation programs: the Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program, the VA250 Tourism Marketing Program, and the Vacation Starts with VA Co-op Program.
Local partners committed more than $729,992 to match the VTC grant funding, generating more than $1.3 million in new marketing initiatives. In total, the programs will benefit 624 tourism partners statewide.
These programs are administered by VTC and are designed to leverage limited local marketing dollars with state funds to drive travel and visitor spending in the fall, winter and early spring. Harnessing the Virginia is for Lovers brand, these programs use the hub-and-spoke tourism model to foster partnerships and create engaging itineraries to extend visitor stays and generate greater economic impact.
Each grant program plays a distinct role in advancing Virginia’s tourism growth. Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program grants are designed to help small tourism-related businesses with 20 or fewer full-time employees amplify marketing during the “shoulder” season (September to May). The Vacation Starts with VA Co-op Program supports destination marketing organizations in executing targeted, research-driven campaigns using VTC’s flagship Vacation Starts with VA brand and toolkit. And the VA250 Tourism Marketing Program builds awareness for the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence by promoting Virginia’s unmatched cultural and historical legacy under the theme America: Made in Virginia.
The grant to the Gloucester Main Street Association, with a required match of $6,984.60, is through the Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program for “Experience Gloucester Main Street: A Vacation From Your Vacation.”
The grant to Mathews County, with a required match of $5,000, is through the Vacation Starts With VA Flagship Program.