Tourism promotion efforts in Danville and Boyle County will receive a welcome boost in the form of funding being made available from the state to aid in the continued recovery of the tourism industry.

More than $5.3 million from the federal Economic Development Administration was made available for grants through the Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet on behalf of the Kentucky Department of Tourism. Of that amount, $26,500 will be coming to Danville/Boyle County.

Kendall Clinton, executive director of the Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the tourism and travel industry in Danville and Boyle County was heavily impacted in 2020 and into 2021, due to Covid-related travel restrictions. That impacted the tax revenue coming to the CVB office, limiting the resources available for marketing and advertising all that Danville and Boyle County have to offer visitors.

“When the availability of these funds was announced back in January, we had a limited time to develop project ideas and apply for the grant funding,” Clinton said. “A total of seven projects were identified to help promote Danville and Boyle County. All of the projects and associated funding from the EDA grant have been approved. We’ll have until December 2023 to utilize these funds, in addition to the marketing and advertising we’ll be doing with funds in our annual budget.”

The grant funds will be used to attend motorcoach and group travel shows, for extensive updates to the CVB’s website, services from a travel writer, production of a television show focused on tourism-related locations in Boyle County that will air on KET, professional photography services and advertising with the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

The Danville-Boyle County CVB is one of 103 tourism and destination marketing organizations in 88 counties in Kentucky that applied and were approved for a portion of the $5.3 million in EDA funding.

“Today, we are celebrating another investment into the future of Kentucky,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “Tourism brings more than 67 million people to our state each year, and that number is set to grow even more. Whether it’s spending the afternoon fishing on a Western Kentucky lake, taking in the scenic views of Natural Bridge and the amazing moonbow at Cumberland Falls, or getting a taste of our world-famous bourbon and the fastest two minutes in sports, you’re going to find special things to see and do here in the commonwealth.”

An additional $678,624 will be allocated directly to the commonwealth’s nine tourism regions to support regional marketing and promotion. Previously, Beshear dedicated $2.8 million in federal funding to support the creation of regional marketing campaigns. Tourism is a $8.9 billion industry that supports economic growth in both rural and urban communities in Kentucky. Throughout the pandemic, the commonwealth has invested more than $13 million in the tourism industry to strengthen promotional and advertising efforts and encourage safe travel to Kentucky through the development of new marking campaigns.