Explore Minnesota Tourism has awarded almost $75,000 in grants to 21 nonprofit tourism promotion organizations to market winter travel to communities across the state

Contact: Joan Hummel
651-297-4714
Joan.Hummel@state.mn.us
November 27, 2006, St. Paul, MN — A direct mail campaign will lure snowmobilers, a TV ad will tout ice fishing, a billboard in Wisconsin will feature skiing, while other advertising will focus on theater, concerts and city visits. These are a few of the promotions funded by these grants that are aimed at drawing visitors to Minnesota destinations next winter.“Roughly 20 percent of travel in Minnesota takes place during the winter, so it’s a key season to promote. These public/private partnerships allow communities to expand their seasonal marketing, and in many cases, to reach new markets,” explained John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota Tourism, the state’s tourism promotion office.Recipients include convention and visitors bureaus, chambers of commerce, lodging and resort associations and other community tourism organizations. Communities provide 60 percent of the cost of these marketing programs, or more than $112,000 in additional funding leveraged by these winter promotion grants. The winter partnership grants are part of an annual Explore Minnesota Partnership Grants program totaling more than $700,000.

Tourism is a $10 billion industry in Minnesota, supporting 235,000 jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector statewide.

A complete list of the winter tourism partnership grants follow:

Brainerd Lakes Area Chambers of Commerce $3,200
Cloquet Area Tourism $1,712
Cuyuna Range Chamber of Commerce $1,659
Detroit Lakes $3,743
Ely Chamber of Commerce $5,000
Fergus Falls $4,952
Glenwood Area Chamber of Commerce $2,000
Greater Minneapolis CVA $5,000
Greater Stillwater Chamber $4,800
Gunflint Trail Association $5,000
Hinckley CVB $1,725
Lake of the Woods $1,396
Lake Vermillion Resort Association $4,423
Lanesboro Area Chamber of Commerce $1,260
Lutsen-Tofte Tourism Assn $5,000
Mankato Area Chamber & CB $3,440
Mille Lacs Area Tourism $4,982
St. Croix Valley Tourism Alliance $5,000
Thief River Falls CVB $597
Visit Duluth $5,000
Visit Minneapolis North $5,000

TOTAL WINTER GRANT REQUESTS: $74,890.68

##