TravelNevada awards $1 million in marketing grants to rural Nevada

CARSON CITY, Nev. — The Nevada Commission on Tourism (TravelNevada) on Wednesday, June 19, approved $1,017,790 in grant funding to rural tourism agencies as part of the agency's Rural Marketing Grants program.

“Rural Nevada is where visitors will find amazing state parks, cultural and historical sites and one-of-a-kind community events,” Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall, NCOT chairwoman, said in a statement. “It's a great place for a road trip and outdoor recreation, and it's something we want people to know about. We are proud to partner with rural Nevada to help promote these destinations through the Rural Marketing Grants program.”

TravelNevada distributes grants twice a year. This recent distribution is the first cycle for fiscal year 2020, which begins July 1, 2019. Among the funded projects:

• The Winnemucca Convention & Visitors Authority was awarded a $19,880 grant to promote the 2021 World Horseshoe Pitching Contest in Winnemucca.

• A $5,000 grant was awarded to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to pay for website updates and print advertising promoting Pyramid Lake as a fishing destination.

• The Mesquite Chamber of Commerce was awarded a $10,000 grant to produce a visitor's guide to be distributed out of the area and available online.

• A $16,500 grant was awarded to Nevada Silver Trails, an organization promoting south-central Nevada, to support its aggressive social media program.

• The White Pine County Tourism and Recreation Board was granted $6,000 to create 3-D immersive videos of Renaissance Village, a historical site in downtown Ely that has been restored to showcase the ethnic diversity of the early Ely settlers. 

• A $9,210 grant was given to the Alta Alpina Cycling Club to help promote the Carson Valley Adventure Series, a new bicycling series that will debut in 2020. Grant funds would help pay for a website, branding development and other activities to launch the series.

Funding for the Rural Marketing Grants program does not come from the state's general fund. TravelNevada receives three-eighths of 1% of room tax revenue as its operations budget. A portion of those funds is used to offer the Rural Marketing Grants Program.