In December 2021, Governor Andy Beshear announced that his biennium budget would include more than $5 million in federal funding for the promotion of travel, tourism and outdoor recreation in the Commonwealth.
That bullet point became law Wednesday morning in Frankfort’s Capitol Rotunda, when Beshear presented the funding — and another $600,000-plus — to the nine tourism regions of Kentucky.
Through the Kentucky General Assembly, Beshear applauded the bi-partisan and bi-cameral efforts of the House and Senate, which eventually saw fit to rejuvenate Kentucky’s tourism industry and its promotion following a three-year pandemic.
People don’t just stumble upon the state by accident, and promotion isn’t free of charge. And Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Mike Berry noted this infusion of federal dollars will only draw in more visitors to the state.
Of the $5.3 million to be invested, more than 100 tourism organizations and 80 counties will be immediately impacted budgetarily.
Kentucky Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau past president and Western Waterlands representative Erin Carrico said that Wednesday was a “special day” for Kentuckians and the tourism industry.
The Western Waterlands tourism region is bordered by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, and is home to the two largest lakes in Kentucky and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area — a popular vacation destination for fishing, skiing, sailing, tubing, kayaking, swimming, camping and relaxing.
Kentucky tourism annually services more than 67 million people state-wide, and generates more than $8 billion in local, regional and state revenues.
