Flood Recovery “Very Much Open” Visitation Campaign
VermontBiz Vermont Tourism’s flood recovery visitation campaign launched Labor Day weekend with billboards in Vermont’s key drive markets, from metro DC to north of Boston. Thanks to the support of our vendors, Vermont’s ‘very much open’ messaging will appear in over 325 locations in our major markets, including New York, New Jersey, and southern New England, at a fraction of the typical cost. Additional components of the campaign include national and regional public radio underwriting, digital display advertising, and a series of social media stories that will profile businesses and communities coming back from the flood. Vermont has also secured sponsorship of the weekly fall foliage reports broadcast on WCVB in Boston, giving us the opportunity to reach a very wide audience in a key market. Along with everyone in the industry, we are looking forward to a hopefully very robust fall foliage season.
Help Us Calculate the Impact to Tourism from Flooding
Businesses that suffered lost income from the July 2023 flooding events are asked to please participate in ACCD’s Economic Injury Survey, even if they did not suffer physical damage. The data will be used to provide a more complete picture of the flooding's toll and inform advocacy for recovery, relief, and resiliency programs. There is currently no grant program for businesses that exclusively suffered economic damage, but this data collection effort is critically important, especially for tourism, recreation, retail, and hospitality businesses. The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, and responses are requested by September 15, 2023.
Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund
There is still time for restaurants impacted by the July 2023 flooding to receive a $10,000 grant from the Restaurant Disaster Relief Fund. The fund created by Door Dash, Hello Alice, and the Global Entrepreneurship Fund provides grants to brick-and-mortar restaurants in declared disaster areas. Restaurants do not need to be a Door Dash partner to apply. This round of grant applications closes on September 29, 2023.
Velomont Trail Public Visioning Survey and Open Houses
The Velomont seeks to connect new and existing mountain bike trail networks with backcountry huts and in-town lodging experiences to create a truly unique riding opportunity that will connect towns, villages, and their respective trail systems across the state through an end-to-end, hut-to-hut experience like nothing else in the country. These Open Houses are intended to gather input on the vision and future direction of The Velomont from stakeholders, members of the public— whether Vermont residents or not—or any other interested party.
Open Houses:
- Richmond: September 25, 6-8 PM
- Rutland: September 26, 6-8 PM
- St. Johnsbury: October 10, 6-8 PM
It’s Not Too Late to Volunteer at the Big E
The Big E, New England’s Great State Fair, opens next week in West Springfield, MA and runs from September 15 through October 1. VDTM is looking for volunteers to help staff the Vermont Tourism Booth in the Vermont Building. In 2022, the fair saw over 1.6 million visitors over the course of 17 days.
This is a high-impact, low-cost chance to promote your tourism business. You can volunteer for one shift (or more) and each day is split into two shifts, one from 9am – 4pm and one from 12pm – 7pm. Not only will you be able to share your passion and knowledge of Vermont during your shift, but we will distribute your print collateral for all 17 days of the fair.
For more information on this opportunity to bring a lot of visibility to your business, please email [email protected]
RFP for Marketing, Creative, and Media Services
The State of Vermont Chief Marketing Office (CMO) has issued an RFP for the Level 1 Marketing Master Contracts. With this RFP, the CMO would like to expand the number of marketing master contractors that are available to work with state agencies and provide state agencies with specialized marketing assistance. The Level 1 marketing master contractors would be able to provide services in 1 or 2 of the following categories:
- Copywriting and Editing
- Design and Print Production
- Photography
- Primary Market Research
- Public Relations
- Video Production
Add Your Listing
In July, individual business listings on the VermontVacation.com directory received almost 23,000 unique page views. Listing your business or event offers great visibility.
Travel+Recreation Council
Join VDTM and industry leaders for the latest tourism industry news and initiatives. The next TRC meeting will be held on Thursday, September 21, 2023, in Montpelier.
