CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Gov. Abigail Spanberger announced over $6.5 million in grants through the Virginia Tourism Corporation on Thursday to bolster tourism efforts in the Commonwealth, and over $120,000 of those funds will be coming to the local area.

“The strength of Virginia’s tourism industry is critical to local economies across every region of our Commonwealth,” Gov. Abigail Spanberger said in a statement. “From rural communities to our urban centers, this funding will showcase the full breadth and beauty of our home while supporting jobs, expanding opportunities for small businesses, and driving economic growth statewide.”

Two of the largest grants locally went to the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau and Culpeper’s Tourism Economic Development.

“Effective tourism marketing is key to turning interest into visitation into economic impact,” Rita McClenny, President and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation, said in a statement. “These programs give our partners the tools to tell more compelling stories about their destinations, connect with travelers in meaningful ways, and inspire deeper exploration across Virginia.”

Last month, Spanberger appeared in Charlottesville to announce a comprehensive plan to grown Virginia tourism, calling the industry a “driver of Virginia’s economy.”

CACVB is getting $30,000 toward to redesign its website promoting local tourism to University of Virginia alumni, spokesperson Anna Whitlow told Cville Right Now.

“We applied for the marketing leverage grant to support specific goals around attracting UVA alumni, who have a vested interest in visiting our area, and providing them with information to expand their visit beyond Grounds and visit around Charlottesville and Albemarle County by gaining information about attractions and food and beverage venues and wineries,” Whitlow said.

Whitlow said the organization already has a strong relationship with the UVA Alumni Association and this project will help both get actual data on what types of activities and attractions are of interest to UVA graduates when they come back to visit the area.

“What we would hope to be able to eventually implement is a way to track actual visitation from UVA alumni,” Whitlow said. “So, what we’re working on with this grant is to identify the first step of that conversion to our website to gather more information for visitation.”

As the umbrella organization for Charlottesville and Albemarle Tourism, CACVB was also involved in supporting other organizations grant applications.

“The great thing about this grant process is that to apply and to receive the grant, you have to have a letter of support from the destination management or marketing organization within your jurisdiction,” Whitlow said. “We were looped into their application process as they were applying. We’re aware of what they’re working on, we’re supportive as we can be, and we actually write a letter of support for their application as part of the process to apply for this grant. So, the great thing about this grant is, it gives us some opportunity to get some insight to work with them on building out the planning for the programs that they’re applying for the grant for and be in the loop on it early on and then to be supportive. It allows us to say, how can we collaborate and support these, um, initiatives that they are bringing to the table as well?”
Eastwood Farm and Winery will get a $20,000 grant, Foxfield Racing will receive $14,000, the Charlottesville Ale Trail will get $17,540, the Monticello Wine Trail is in line for $10,000. and the IX Arts Foundation will get $2,500.

Culpeper is receiving $30,000 for its Two Wheels, One Adventure program, and Gordonsville will get $3,240.