Dollars doled out for rural NV tourism
Bill O'Driscoll
Elko's airport, Ely's Nevada Northern Railway and the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority were big winners Wednesday in the Nevada Commission on Tourism's $414,854 Rural Grants Program for tourism marketing.
The commission awarded $10,000 to the Elko Regional Airport to advertise Sky West air service to Elko from Salt Lake City to help the airport reach its goal of an additional 5,000 visitors.
The commission also awarded $10,000 to the White Pine Historic Railroad Foundation in Ely to create 20 "webisodes" about the Nevada Northern Railway that will be posted to the railway's YouTube channel in an effort to draw up to 36,000 visitors a year to the Ely area in Eastern Nevada.
In addition, the commission gave $8,000 to the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority to promote the Amgen professional women's cycling race in May 2015. Grant applicants estimate the value of the media coverage of the event to be in excess of $200,000.
"These programs extend the state brand through enhanced use of technology and marketing programming," Claudia Vecchio, Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs director, said in a statement accompanying the grants announcement.
The Rural Grants Program funds from the commission's portion of room tax revenue are awarded twice a year. Other notable awards are:
o $8,000 to the Dam Short Film Society in Boulder City to promote the Dam Short Film Festival.
o $6,500 to Indian Territory, a nonprofit organization promoting tribal tourism to hire a photographer to complete a comprehensive photo library of the state's American Indian tourism destinations.
o 3,800 to Nevada Silver Trails, a nonprofit group promoting tourism to the state's central and southern rural areas, to create a brochure about attractions off the U.S. 95 corridor between Reno and Las Vegas.
Grant recipients must provide a 50-50 match in funds or volunteer hours.