Governor Brian P. Kemp in partnership with Explore Georgia, the state tourism office within the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced the recipients of a special round of Tourism Recovery Marketing Grants.

The Explore Georgia Tourism Recovery Marketing Grant program supports marketing efforts to bolster the recovery of Georgia’s tourism industry from the COVID-19 pandemic. Thirty-four destination marketing organizations in 27 counties will receive a combined total of nearly $1.5 million in recovery marketing funding as part of this one-time grant program.

Governor Kemp and the Georgia General Assembly approved $1 million in the amended FY21 state budget for tourism recovery. Because of the substantial number of grant applications – from 58 organizations totaling nearly $2.5 million in funding requests – Explore Georgia contributed an additional $1 million from the state tourism marketing budget to fund as many grants as possible. The Explore Georgia Tourism Recovery Marketing program also includes $500,000 in co-op matching funds, for a total of $2 million in recovery support.

The Chattooga County Chamber of Commerce received $9,350 in grant money from Explore Georgia.

*To see the full list of the Explore Georgia Recovery Marketing Grants, Weighted Index & Final Grant Awards, please see the link Here

The applications were evaluated based on need, quantified by the year-over-year loss in Hotel-Motel Excise Tax collections for the organization, and the change in unemployment in the organization’s county. Grant recipients received 100% of the award amount requested