Travel Council Awards $1.8 Million In Grants Money To Be Used For Tourism Development, Promotion
The Idaho Travel Council has awarded almost $1.8 million in Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant funds to 39 regional travel committees, chambers of commerce and other organizations.
The advisory panel to the Idaho Department of Commerce reviewed 43 requests for more than $2 million during a two-day meeting in Boise.
Southwestern Idaho got the biggest share with $541,772 in grants, which are matched 50 percent by local and private sources. Southeastern Idaho organizations got the smallest share - $123,467.
“We face tough decisions when we review grant applications,” said John Wells, chairman of the eight-member Idaho Travel Council. “We try to fund projects that we feel will give Idaho the biggest promotional bang for its buck.”
Funds for the Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant program, which was developed in 1982, are generated from 45 percent of the 2-percent tax paid by travelers on hotel and motel rooms and private campground spaces. The amount awarded has grown from $400,000 in 1982, and a total of almost $15 million has been allocated for local tourism promotion efforts.
xxxx NORTH IDAHO GRANTS Post Falls Tourism Inc., $40,346. Silver Valley Resort Association, $44,000. Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, $86,750. Coeur d’Alene Convention and Visitors Bureau, $115,617. North Idaho Travel Committee, $44,679. St. Maries Chamber of Commerce, $6,260. Kellogg Project Uplift, $31,100. Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce, $7,663. Idaho RV Campground Association-Northern Chapter, $1,000. Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association-Northern Chapter, $2,000. - Associated Press