Gov. Andy Beshear announces millions in funding to boost Kentucky tourism industry

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WYMT) - State leaders announced a large investment this week that they hope will boost the state’s tourism industry and economy following a decline brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Monday, Gov. Andy Beshear and Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Mike Berry announced Kentucky will allocate $75 million from the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the fund.

The money was approved by the General Assembly during the 2022 legislative session.

The funding is divided into four pools and will be distributed to eligible tourism and destination marketing organizations that apply and show the impact COVID had on their group.

• Pool one: $15 million will be used for statewide tourism marketing efforts.
• Pool two: $25 million will be used in a grant program for tourism commissions to market their communities.
• Pool three: $25 million will be used to attract meetings and conventions.
• Pool four: $10 million will be used for multicounty collaborative destination marketing.

For more information about application deadlines and funding opportunities, please visit kentuckytourism.com/industry.

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