Gov. Carney announces over $7 million in tourism grants

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney and the Delaware Division of Small Business have announced that the State of Delaware will invest more than $7 million as part of the recovery effort in travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries.

We’re told the funds are part of the Economic Development Administration’s $750 million American Rescue Plan Travel, Tourism, & Outdoor Recreation program, which provides $510 million in State Tourism grants and $240 million in Competitive Tourism grants that will be awarded to advance the economic recovery and resiliency of communities where the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries were hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delaware received over $7 million of the $510 million State Tourism grants awarded by the Department of Commerce.

Requests for proposals are now live online for the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries. Officials say the funds are being awarded through 9-12 sub-awards, including:

• $1,000,000 (approximately $333,333 per county) devoted to marketing efforts to provide recovery and resiliency to the areas that drive Delaware’s tourism industry
• $1,500,000 (approximately $500,000 per county) devoted to Parks & Recreation to increase accessibility at parks and create more opportunities for WiFi
• $5,250,000 to be divided among three to five projects for a “Commercial Corridor Challenge” for organizations to offer creative solutions to help the tourism industry thrive now and to withstand future disasters

Interested tourism entities can go online to review the RFP and apply. The deadline for proposals is December 3, 2021, and awardees will be notified in late December.