Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau Awarded $290,000 by the State
October 17, 2011
GREENVILLE, SC – October 14, 2011 – The State of South Carolina recognizes the importance and impact of promoting the Greenville area so much so that they are putting dollars behind augmenting the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) strategic investment in travel promotion. Funded by the Capital Reserve Fund, the Destination Specific Tourism Marketing Grant Program is a tourism marketing matching funds grant program. The program matches every $2 of privately raised money for tourism promotion with $1 in public funds. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism administers the program and has awarded the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau with $290,000 for FY2011-2012.
According to Jennifer Stilwell, Chief Marketing Officer at the CVB, “Travel promotion of the greater Greenville area is the top priority of the Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau and is an essential strategy for encouraging economic growth through new tax revenues. Our efforts stimulate interest among potential groups and visitors. That new interest translates into more trips to the destination. Additional visitors then spur more travel spending at city and county hotels, restaurants, retail stores, attractions, facilities and venues and other businesses. And of critical importance is that travel spending supports new jobs and generates additional tax revenues at home which more than pays for the initial investment many times over.”
Since the programs creation in 2006, Myrtle Beach, Charleston, Hilton Head Island and Columbia have all received funding under the program. This marks the first time Greenville makes the list. Said Duane Parrish, director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, “As I’ve said before, Greenville is perhaps the most transformed city in South Carolina, a great destination built around the scenic Reedy River. Pedestrian and bike friendly, a great place for dining and shopping, Greenville really has become a place you’d want to be. We certainly want people to know more about the area and plan to visit.”
The $290,000 from the Destination Specific Tourism Marketing Grant Program will allow Greenville to do just that – tell more people, creating a greater awareness of the destination. More specifically, the funds give Greenville the opportunity to more aggressively promote and secure business contracts for meetings and conventions, tradeshows, conferences and sporting events. Large multi-hotel bookings positively impact our local TD Convention Center as well as generate room nights in volume for greater Greenville accommodations.
Fourteen local businesses – the majority of which are downtown and suburban accommodations – have invested dollars totaling $390,000. Without support and financial commitment from the private industry, this grant would have not been possible. Specifically, businesses partnering with the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau and the State include:
- Courtyard by Marriott Greenville Downtown
- Courtyard by Marriott GSP Airport
- Crowne Plaza Greenville
- Embassy Suites Golf Resort & Conference Center
- Fairfield Inn by Marriott Greenville
- Greenville Marriott
- Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Riverplace
- Hampton Inn Greenville Woodruff
- Hilton Greenville
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel & Suites
- Hyatt Regency Greenville
- TD Convention Center
- The Phoenix
- The Westin Poinsett Greenville
Private and public industry coming together for the greater good is always a good thing – especially when it makes the cash register ring at home – local investment, local return.
The Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau is a not-for-profit organization that is responsible for promoting the Greater Greenville area as an attractive destination for meetings, conventions, tradeshows, sporting events and leisure travelers. As the primary marketing and promotion agency for the City and County of Greenville, the goal of the Convention and Visitors Bureau is to increase visitor-generated revenue from local, regional and national markets, thereby strengthening Greenville’s economy.
