Governor Andy Beshear announced yesterday that $75 million of funding would be going to Kentucky's tourism industry.
The money is coming from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
Kentucky’s tourism industry is estimated to be worth $8.9 billion dollars, but it has taken a beating in recent years due to the pandemic.
Beshear hopes to reverse that trend with more funding:
“Kentucky is a world-class tourism destination, full of unique experiences that travelers and Kentuckians alike travel far and wide to enjoy,” Beshear said in a statement. “Our tourism industry is critical to our economic success, and now is the time to invest and support our travel partners across the commonwealth as we see our economy booming and our communities and our people reaping the benefits.”
The funding is divided into four pools, and will be distributed to eligible tourism and destination marketing organizations that apply and show the impact COVID had on their group. The Kentucky Department of Tourism will spend the next several weeks reviewing applications and allocating the funding.
Funding Pools:
- Pool 1: $15 million for statewide tourism marketing efforts.
- Pool 2: $25 million for tourism commissions to market their communities.
- Pool 3: $25 million to attract meetings and conventions.
- Pool 4: $10 million for multi-county collaborative destination marketing.
