Chamber receives $98K ITC grant

SANDPOINT — The Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce has received almost $100,000 as part of an Idaho Travel Council grant.

In addition, the chamber also received $66,387 in conjunction with the North Idaho Travel Association.

“We were expecting the grant to be less than last year,” Kathy  Hubbard, chairman of the board of Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce said, “And, although it was, it was more than we had realistically hoped for. Kudos go to the Recreation and Tourism committee and former president/CEO Amy Little for putting together a concise request.”

The grants are used by chambers and  regional tourism development organizations to promote cities, towns and regions of the state as tourist destinations. Program elements are varied but often include print and electronic advertising, brochures, travel shows, public relations, direct mail, industry research and creation of websites.

The award will be used by the Sandpoint chamber to promote tourism, Hubbard said.

“These funds will go a long way to increase tourism in the greater Sandpoint area,” she said.

The grants are part of more than $2.5 million in tourism marketing funding awarded to non-profit organizations through the Idaho Regional Travel and Convention Grant Program at their annual summer meeting held in Sun Valley this week.

“This is a remarkable program which leverages creative ideas and the 2-percent lodging tax revenues into marketing dollars for the communities of Idaho. My compliments to the Idaho Travel Council for their diligence in reviewing and awarding these funds that are vital for statewide economic sustainability and growth” said Karen Ballard, administrator for the Division of Tourism Development.

Tourism is a more than $3 billion dollar industry in Idaho and building Idaho’s economy by increasing visitor expenditures throughout the state is the goal of the Idaho Travel Council and the Tourism Development Division.

The division’s activities are funded by a two percent lodging tax, paid by travelers and collected by the state’s hotel, motel and private campground owners. Forty-five percent of the funds are used for statewide programs targeted to international and domestic consumers, tour operators, travel agents, travel journalists, and film industry marketing. Another forty-five percent is distributed back in the grant program. The remaining ten percent is used for administration of the division.

Total lodging tax collections for fiscal year 2010 were $6.263 million.