Wythe County Department of Parks and Recreation has received $10,000 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 with state grants.
More than $860,000 in matching grant funds were awarded to 64 local tourism initiatives through this program. This funding cycle, local partners will provide more than $2.2 million in-kind marketing value to match the VTC grants. The grants will ultimately impact 384 statewide tourism entities.
The funds will promote Wythe County Wythe County’s trails such as New River Trail, the Virginia Highlands Horse Trail, Seven Sisters Trail, Walker Mountain Trail, Crawfish Valley Trails, Rural Retreat Lake, Crystal Springs Recreational Area Trails, and the Iron Mountain Trail. The trails will be printed on one travel brochure to help visitors plan to hike trails the County has to offer. Maps will show trail distance, elevation, difficulty of the hike and more.
“We are so excited to start this project, “said Elizabeth Sweeney, Wythe County’s Public Information Officer and Grant Coordinator. “We have partnered with Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce and Wytheville Convention & Visitors Bureau to help execute the project to completion. The brochures are going to be printed and distributed for spring hikers.”
“Wytheville and Wythe County is a premier destination for outdoor recreation,” stated Rosa Lee Jude, Director of the Wytheville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “We are excited that Wythe County has received grant funding to create a revised brochure to help showcase our wonderful trails and recreation areas. The Wytheville CVB will put the power of our extensive marketing program behind this effort to get this information into the hands of visitors. We are happy to be partners in this initiative.”
“We are pleased to be a partner in this endeavor and look forward to having the informative brochure updated and out for distribution.” Jennifer Atwell, Executive Director of the Wytheville-Wythe-Bland Chamber of Commerce.
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.
“The tourism and hospitality industries have been among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, experiencing decreased revenue and job loss, along with the temporary closure of many tourism-related businesses,” said Gov. Ralph Northam. “These funds will help to revive Virginia’s tourism economy, which will help spur new economic activity and inject critical funds back into its communities.”
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. The RMLP is designed to increase visitor spending by stimulating new tourism marketing through partnerships and extending the “Virginia is for Lovers” brand.
Wythe County produced 2,000 copies of the “Wythe County Trails” in 2014 and every single copy was picked up from the distribution centers. With the awarded grant money, Wythe County will 10,000 copies of the trail for distribution to outdoor enthusiasts throughout the region and at visitor centers along the interstate corridors.
