Several U.S. states, including New Mexico, Delaware, Virginia and North Carolina, have made headlines for large investments into their respective tourism industries.
Another $510 million was allocated through the U.S. Economic Development Administration since it was launched in July 2021, with the lowest distributions totaling $100,000 and the largest, awarded to California, amounting to $45.95 million. The funds are part of the administration’s $750 million American Rescue Plan Travel, Tourism & Outdoor Recreation program and also includes $240 million in Competitive Tourism.
The Outdoor Recreation Roundtable applauded Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s announcement of a $245 million investment into his state’s Office of Outdoor Recreation and into additional outdoor recreation infrastructure.
Jessica Turner, Outdoor Recreation Roundtable president, said the $245 million is welcome news for the outdoor industry sector, the state of Virginia and all Virginians
“The outdoor recreation economy pays huge dividends to Virginia’s economy, to the tune of $8 billion each year,” Turner said. “With this additional investment in programs for trails, state parks and the state’s Office of Outdoor Recreation – headed by Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Economic Development Cassidy Rasnick – Virginia will be able to promote outdoor recreation, develop partnerships, and create and improve recreation infrastructure.”
Of the $8 billion Virginian outdoor sector, $2.59 million is attributed to RVing, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis’s Outdoor Recreation Satellite Account report.
RVIA’s Vice President of Government Affairs Jay Landers said the Virginian funding exemplifies the state’s commitment to prioritizing the growth of outdoor recreation.
“In addition to outdoor recreation as a whole,” Landers said, “this office supports the nearly 400 RV businesses who create more than 7,000 jobs and pay $340 million in wages here in Virginia.”
The RV Industry Association, along with other members of the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, have called for governors in all 50 states to establish an Office of Outdoor Recreation. This year, Maryland and Arkansas established new offices, bringing the total number of states with an OREC office to eighteen.
Similarly to the Roundtable’s affirmation, the Outdoor Industry Association applauded North Carolina’s recently enacted budget. The biennium budget includes more than $500 million to fund parks, trails and conservation projects. It also instructs the North Carolina Outdoor Recreation Industry Office director to create a statewide outdoor recreation industry action plan.
North Carolina’s RVing activity accounts for $3.69 million of the state’s $9.96 billion outdoor recreation industry.
Delaware Gov. John Carney and the Delaware Division of Small Business are investing more than $7 million as part of the recovery effort in travel, tourism and outdoor recreation industries. The state announced that the Department of Commerce awarded $510 million state tourism grants, of which Delaware received more than $7 million.
The state is seeking proposals for projects that utilize marketing efforts to provide recovery and resiliency to the areas that drive Delaware’s tourism industry and increase accessibility at parks and create more opportunities for WiFi through the Parks & Recreation department.
“These funds will provide necessary support to the tourism industry that was hard hit during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Carney said. “Delaware’s $3.5 billion tourism industry employs over 44,000 Delawareans and we need to band together to come up with solutions that help the industry recover and prepare it for future challenges.”
Delaware received $5 million from RV activity in 2020, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported in November.
