March 10, 2021                                                                                                                                                                    Photo by Andrea Johnson                       

Travel Oregon Economic Recovery Efforts

At the Feb. 23 public meeting, following a strategic review of the current revenue forecast and economic trends, the Oregon Tourism Commission approved a staff recommendation to immediately modify Travel Oregon’s biennial budget to invest in direct relief to tourism industry partners. With so many in Oregon’s travel and tourism industry still facing the impacts of COVID-19, the approved budget modification provides $4.5 million in real and immediate relief in the following ways:
  • $1.2 million for the Regional Cooperative Tourism Program and Grants (statute directs 30% of Travel Oregon’s revenue towards these programs). 
  • Additional funds for Destination Ready projects and grants, increasing the awarded amount from $250,000 to $913,000, which were awarded on Feb. 25.
  • $1.5 million to regional recovery and stability programs through the Regional Destination Management Organizations.
  • An additional $1 million to the Competitive & Recovery Grants, increasing the available funds from $1.3 to $2.3 million. This opportunity opens statewide on March 15.  

Access Past Webinars

In our ongoing effort to support small businesses through the pandemic, Travel Oregon hosted a variety of webinars through the Virtual Training, Engagement and Assistance program. You can find recordings of recent webinars below or access them via our industry YouTube channel.
Looking for more? All virtual upcoming and past events can be found here.
The next Small Business Marketing Series webinar is on March 11, from 12-1 p.m. Learn how you can take advantage of Google My Business and Locl’s optimization suite to drive business, for free. Register here and share this opportunity with your networks. 

Reminder: Competitive & Recovery Grants Open March 15

Last week, Travel Oregon unveiled a Competitive & Recovery Grants Program. Applications open at 8 a.m. on March 15 and will be accepted until March 31 at 5 p.m.
Read the complete Grant Guidelines to see eligibility requirements, funding parameters and application questions. Please direct questions to grants@traveloregon.com.

Federal COVID-19 Relief – The American Rescue Plan Act

Today, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act. The historic $1.9 trillion federal relief bill now heads to President Biden. The bill includes various provisions that will support the tourism industry including some of the following elements:
  • $12.7 billion for a national vaccination program.
  • $350 billion to state and local governments.
  • $3 billion for Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants, with 25% ($750 million) set aside for communities affected by job loss in travel and tourism.
  • $8 billion in grants for airports with an $800 million set-aside for airport concessionaires.
  • $28.6 billion in grants to support independent restaurants and bars.
As this bill is enacted and resources become available, Travel Oregon will share additional details on these programs through this industry newsletter as well as our COVID-19 Toolkit.  

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Contact Travel Oregon at: 503-967-1560 or by email Industry@TravelOregon.com
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