Giles County Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing on Behalf of VisitNRV
Giles County Receives Virginia Tourism Corporation Grant for Tourism Marketing on Behalf of VisitNRV
Giles County, on behalf of the regional marketing effort, VisitNRV received a $10,000.00 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC)’s Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program (MMLP) for its Regional Adventure Trail Guide publication and promotion.
VisitNRV partnered with other local businesses to supply matching funds for the project. The recent launch of the VisitNRV brand and website has garnered much attention to the amenities of the New River Valley area. The goal of this marketing plan and application was to create, design, and print the VisitNRV Adventure Trail Guide. There will be a hard-copy piece of collateral along with a digital version that lives on the www.VisitNRV.com website. Partner DMO’s will also have the guide for distribution in their Visitor or Welcome Centers and posted to their sites. VisitNRV will use event activations, foot traffic, special events, and lead-generation to promote the availability of the guides. The trails highlighted will be disbursed throughout the region and travel to and from lodging, dining, and shopping to the trailheads will place visitors in those areas which will increase the visitation and sales at their places of business. The guide will also act as a driver to the website which lists and promotes the small businesses within the region that are of interest to visitors and their itinerary planning, therefore also increasing awareness of and visitation too those small businesses.
Virginia Tourism Corporation awarded more than $757,000 to 131 marketing programs, ultimately impacting 655 combined partners, and supporting more than 1,300 jobs across the state to help increase off-season visitation to tourism businesses and destinations.
“We know our visitors to the New River Valley of Virginia are excited about outdoor recreation amenities. This trail guide will feature a highlight of the trails from all localities that guests will add to their itinerary. We will showcase the abundance of trail opportunities whether bike, foot, on water, and more, and this will encourage overnight visitation to enjoy the robust trails in our region. More to do means more days to stay and VisitNRV!” said Cora Gnegy, Tourism Director for Giles County.
“The Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program is part of VTC’s strategy to grow year-round visitation in Virginia and is designed to support small tourism businesses with marketing dollars to drive out-of-state visitation during off-peak travel seasons. We are excited about this program because we see it as a gateway for small businesses to engage with VTC’s marketing and development ecosystem to grow their business and build on the Virginia is for Lovers branding,” said Rita McClenny, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation.
The VTC Microbusiness Marketing Leverage Program is designed to increase visitor spending in the off-season by leveraging limited marketing dollars, stimulating new tourism marketing through partnerships, and extending the “Virginia is for Lovers” brand. This is a program focused on supporting tourism businesses with less than 20 full-time employees through marketing partnerships. A minimum of five Virginia entities must partner to apply for the microbusiness marketing grant. Partners may consist of Virginia cities, towns, counties, convention and visitors’ bureaus, chambers of commerce, other local or regional destination marketing organizations, private businesses, museums, attractions, cultural events, and other tourism-related businesses.
About VisitNRV
VisitNRV is the destination marketing efforts orchestrated by the Tourism Departments of Floyd, Giles, Montgomery, and Pulaski counties as well as the City of Radford. The effort is tasked with supporting visitation to the New River Valley and the promotion of activities and events throughout the region. More can be discovered online at VisitNRV.com.
About Virginia Tourism Corporation
Virginia is for Lovers is one of the most iconic and recognizable travel brands in the world. Using that powerful brand equity, Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) is charged with promoting the Commonwealth as a premier travel destination by showcasing all there is to love in a Virginia vacation. The dollars spent by travelers fuel the economy, provide jobs for Virginians, and improve communities across the state. Simply put, tourism helps make Virginia a great place to live, work, and vacation. Learn more at virginia.org.