FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 4, 2011
CONTACT: Dave Hook
800.500.KERN
661.868.KERN
Supervisors allocate $100,000 to stimulate Kern County tourism promotion
Kern County will again assist organizations seeking funds for visitor promotion. The Board of Supervisors today gave unanimous approval to guidelines for the 2011-12 Tourism Promotion Grant Program, providing money for efforts intended to attract traveler spending to the region.
The program is administered by the Kern County Board of Trade.
Supervisors authorized up to $100,000 to be used to assist qualified groups in their efforts to attract visitors to the region. The program has provided 225 grants totaling $1,775,000 since 2001.
One significant change was approved. The pool of potential recipients was increased to include any Kern County 501c organization promoting tourism. In previous years the program had been limited to 501c3 and 501c6 organizations.
“The point of this program is to help bring more visitors to our county,” said Dave Hook, Interim Executive Director of the Board of Trade. “It makes sense to allow more people to give us their ideas on how to do exactly that, and to give the Board of Supervisors more options in awarding these grants.”
New guidelines also simplify reporting requirements that have presented difficulties to grant recipients.
Tourism is a $1.12 billion-a-year industry in Kern County, according to figures provided by the California Travel and Tourism Commission. The industry supports nearly 14,000 local jobs while generating $218 million in payroll and $165 million in state and local taxes.
For the first time, the Board of Trade will present an on-line tutorial designed to guide hopefuls through the application process. The presentation will familiarize potential recipients with the program, discuss new guidelines and points of emphasis, and answer questions about the application procedures.
“The program evolves a little each year, so the workshops are helpful in keeping people informed of the changes,” said Hook. “Each grant cycle has its own unique goals and guidelines. The tutorial allows us to explain what Supervisors are looking for and how the process works while making it as easy as possible to apply.”
The web-based tutorial takes the place of remote workshops held each of the past four years.
“We’ve seen a steady decline in the number of people able to participate in those sessions,” Hook explained. “We understand people have a limited number of hours in their day. We’ve put the workshops on the web to adjust to our partners’ schedules rather than asking them to accommodate ours.”
Other on-line tools, including an application template and sample application, are also available via the web site at www.VisitKern.com. Applications are due no later than November 14.
For more information, contact the Kern County Board of Trade at 661.868.KERN or e-mail info@VisitKern.com.
***
Kern County Board of Tradeis a department of Kern County government responsible for marketing and promotion. Founded in 1888, the Board of Trade serves as Kern County's official tourism bureau, providing visitor information and promoting Kern County as a travel-tourism destination; and the Kern County Film Commission, providing permits and services for film, television and commercial production, as well as marketing Kern County as a location for filming.
