Congratulations to Jenna French and her team at the Shenandoah County Department of Tourism for their recent award! Please see the press release below for all the details.
Shenandoah County Tourism Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing
Contact: Jenna French, Dir. of Tourism & Marketing, Shenandoah County
Phone: 540-459-6227
Email: jfrench@shenandoahcountyva.us
Woodstock, Virginia- Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that Shenandoah County Tourism received $50,000 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Program grant. In total VTC awarded $927,000 for 43 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 159 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 $2.3 million, providing more than $3.2 million in new marketing to increase visitation to Virginia.
Shenandoah County received a $50,000 grant for its new marketing campaign, This is Our Rush Hour. Shenandoah County Tourism partnered with Bryce Resort, Holtzman Corporation, Shenandoah Caverns, The Shenandoah County Chamber of Commerce, and The Shenandoah Valley Cultural Heritage Museum to supply $147,379.00 in matching funds for the project which includes a new website for Shenandoah County Tourism, new marketing videos, and digital and print advertising.
“We are so excited to receive this support from Virginia Tourism Corporation and our local partners on this grant,” explains Jenna French, Director of Tourism & Marketing for Shenandoah County. “These funds nearly double our marketing budget for the year and enable us to develop a new website for County Tourism and participate in advertising that would not otherwise be possible.
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.
“The Marketing Leverage Grant program is designed to spur job creation, economic development, and visitor spending through new or enhanced tourism product,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These grants are proven to increase visitation by creating marketing partnerships and effective marketing programs.”
Research shows that every VTC dollar invested in grants resulted in $16 of direct visitor spending. Marketing campaigns that received Marketing Leverage Grants increased visitation by 15%.
“These grants support businesses across the Commonwealth, contributing to the overall economic health of our communities,” said Todd Haymore, Secretary of Commerce and Trade. “These public-private partnerships are a wonderful example of the power of collaboration, and help support and grow a robust and diversified economy, encouraging strategic marketing of tourism products and businesses across the Commonwealth.”
Tourism is an instant revenue generator for Virginia. In 2015, tourism generated $23 billion in revenue, supported nearly 222,600 jobs and provided $1.6 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.
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