Tourism district announces first two grant recipients
The Eastern Regional Tourism District on Friday announced that it is giving $25,000 each in matching funds to ThinkMystic, a project that various Mystic attractions formed, and Wide Open, a program from the Last Green Valley National Heritage Corridor.
Each will use the funding to promote the region to outside markets.
"Our tourism industry has been severely impacted by the pandemic, and we want to do everything we can to give our economy the resources it needs to grow and thrive under the difficult circumstances," Tracey Hanson, vice chair of the district's board, said in a news release.
She continued, "After working hard to reorganize and reform our operating policies in early 2020, I'm thrilled that the Eastern Regional Tourism District is now operating and supporting our tourism economy."
The district received $180,000 from the Connecticut Office of Tourism to distribute to public-private partnerships as part of the 2020 Regional Marketing Partnership Program, meaning it has $130,000 left to distribute.
ThinkMystic and Wide Open are the first two recipients, and the Eastern Regional Tourism District is accepting applications on a rolling basis through Oct. 31.
Interested applicants must submit a project description, timeline, goals and proposed budget to Courtney Assad at cassad@chamberect.com.
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