Travel Nevada to Distribute $760,000 to Rural Nevada Groups to Promote Tourism
The Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) on Wednesday approved $760,000 in marketing grants to rural communities to better position themselves as tourism destinations. Of the 100 applications received, Travel Nevada will distribute 67 grants across 37 organizations. This cycle of awards is funded with money from the EDA State Tourism and Outdoor Recreation Award. Funded grants will support a variety of marketing projects that will result in overnight stays, generating room tax revenue for the state.
“One of my biggest priorities as Chair of Nevada Commission on Tourism is promoting what I like to call the ‘hidden gems’ of our state, many of which exist in our rural communities,” Lieutenant Governor Lisa Cano Burkhead said. “It’s so important to highlight, market and promote our rural gems, which is why I was happy to support the grant recommendations today. It’s also a great reminder for everyone in and out of Nevada to travel throughout our beautiful state this summer.”
Among the funded projects:
- A $12,000 award was granted to the Great Basin National Park Foundation to hire a professional photographer to capture images in Great Basin National Park. Images will be used to develop the territory’s digital presence, which will assist in growing interest, support, and visitation to the park.
- The Town of Pahrump was awarded $19,875 to expose Nevada and California markets to the town and outlying areas of the state. The grant includes advertising in target publications as well as digitally at sporting events in the Los Angeles and Las Vegas markets.
- A $41,250 award was granted to Carson City Culture & Tourism Authority to execute multiple marketing and advertising efforts to support its first full-scale marketing campaign in order to drive larger awareness of Carson City.
- The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce was awarded $38,375 to fulfill a full-scale marketing and advertising strategy that will inspire visitation to Boulder City and Southern Nevada.
- The City of West Wendover was awarded $5,000 to help promote the 2022 Salty & Stupid Cycling Events. These events target adventure travelers and cycling enthusiasts and have grown over the past two years into a two-day event with nearly 450 cyclists.
- Nevada’s Indian Territory was awarded $10,000 to assist with the promotion of cultural events and destination attractions.
Grant applications went through a rigorous process, which included an internal review by Travel Nevada staff spanning multiple departments. Recommendations were then presented to the six-person Territory Advisory Committee (TAC) for additional feedback and review.
For a complete list of grant recipients, click here.
Funding for Travel Nevada’s Rural Marketing Grants program does not come from the state’s general fund. Travel Nevada receives three-eighths of 1% of room tax revenue as its operations budget. A portion of those funds is used to offer the Rural Marketing Grants program. Grant recipients must provide a 50-50 match in funds or volunteer hours unless a waiver is approved. The grants are distributed in the form of reimbursements to the recipients after the projects are completed and labor and funding details are documented. For more on the Rural Marketing Grants program, click here.
