Botetourt County was one of four areas to receive a grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation’s (VTC) Recovery Marketing Leverage Program (RMLP), designed to help local and regional tourism entities attract more visitors by leveraging limited local marketing dollars through a local match of the state grants funds.
Botetourt County received $20,000, the City of Salem received $10,000, the Town of Rocky Mount received $10,000 and the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce received $20,000 for a total of $80,000 in marketing leverage dollars.
More than $1.9 million in matching grant funds were awarded to 161 local tourism initiatives through this program. This funding cycle, local partners will provide more than $5.6 million in-kind value to match the VTC grants. The grants will ultimately impact 483 statewide tourism entities.
“These dollars are critical to our marketing efforts as we focus on recovery in 2021,” stated Landon Howard, President of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge . “We look forward to the day when restrictions are lifted in Virginia and across the nation of which research indicates travelers will be gearing up for road trips – seeking safe, close-to-home destinations that allow for social distancing and access to open spaces.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on the tourism and hospitality industries in Virginia. As the Commonwealth slowly reopens for business, VTC offered these grant funds as a first step to re-entry into the marketplace to spur economic activity and future travel across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“Tourism is a crucial section of the Virginia economy and when we invest in this industry, we support local job creation and drive regional economic growth, which is desperately needed now due to the pandemic,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “These funds give localities and businesses access to critical marketing resources that will help bring more travelers to our Commonwealth, increase visitor spending, and grow demand for Virginia products.”
Tourism is one of the Commonwealth’s largest economic engines, with visitors to Virginia’s Blue Ridge spending more than $920 million in 2019, supporting 8,177 work opportunities and contributing nearly $67 million in local and state tax revenue. The tourism and hospitality industries have also been among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, experiencing decreased revenue and job loss, along with the temporary closure of many tourism-related businesses. A revived tourism economy can help spur new economic activity and inject critical funds back into Virginia communities.
