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Botetourt County Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing(Targeted News Service Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) FINCASTLE, Va., Sept. 22 -- Botetourt County issued the following news: Governor Terry McAuliffe has announced that Botetourt County received $30,500 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) Marketing Leverage Program grant fund. In total, VTC awarded more than $852,000 for 46tourism 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 195 other statewide tourism entities. The local organizations match the state grant funds by a minimum of 2-to-1 in order to support marketing projects. This funding cycle, the local partners will match the VTC grant dollars with more than $2.1 million, providing more than $3 million in new marketing to increase visitation to Virginia. The Botetourt County Office of Tourism, partnering with Open Studios - Botetourt and Daleville Town Center, received a $30,500 grant for it's "What's Your Bot-e-Type" social media sweepstakes launching in spring 2015. The six-week long sweepstakes, which will randomly select winners every two weeks, will be promoted through Facebook and Twitter advertising, as well as television and digital advertising. The sweepstakes, offering prize packs featuring Botetourt-specific attractions or items, will engage visitors to discover their "Bot-e-Type" - adventure, culture, flavor, history, or sports. The goal of the project is to increase interest and visitation to the county by driving traffic to the Office of Tourism's Facebook page, Twitter account and website at www.visitbotetourt.com. "Through the Marketing Leverage Program offered by the VTC last year, we received grant funding that allowed us to develop the "What's Your Bot-e-Type" campaign, including a redesign of our tourism website, a new visitor guide, and a new advertising campaign. This additional grant funding will now enable us to build upon those efforts and take the "What's Your Bot-e-Type" campaign to the next level, reaching an expanded audience and resulting in an increasing positive economic impact on our communities," said Lisa Moorman, Tourism Manager for Botetourt County. 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 equip local tourism businesses with the tools they need to stay competitive," said Governor McAuliffe. "The Marketing Leverage Program grants help support and grow a robust and diversified New Virginia Economy and encourage strategic marketing of tourism products and businesses across the Commonwealth, generating revenue and jobs." "The grants are supporting businesses across the Commonwealth, contributing to the overall economic health of our communities," said Maurice Jones, Secretary of Commerce and Trade. "The state's investment maximizes local marketing funds, allowing for localities to double and sometimes triple their marketing power to attract more visitors. This is a powerful tool for small businesses across the state." 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-to-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. CC AutoTriage9as-140923-30FurigayJane-4870295 30FurigayJane (c) 2014 Targeted News Service |