A pilot grant program established by the Region of Waterloo to support organizations that help drive local tourism will dole out $163,550 to 20 eligible groups, including the Cambridge Scottish Festival and the Cambridge Community Players.
The Cultural Drivers of Tourism Grant Program is designed to support "new, diverse applicants from across the region, as well as cultural organizations that previously received annual funding outside of formal programs."
It is funded through the Municipal Accommodation Tax (MAT) Reserve, which had a balance of $505,000 on Dec. 31, 2022.
The region began implementing a four per cent MAT tax on local hotel rates in 2019, generating an estimated $3.3 million a year for tourism marketing.
Staff designed the grant program to encourage organizations to collect data that aids in better engagement with the tourism sector.
"Understanding audience demographics and event reach can assist with more effective tourism marketing strategies," reads a staff report heading to the region's planning, development and legislative services committee Tuesday.
The application process opened May 29and closed June 30. The Region received 23 grant applications from across the region, representing nearly 68,000 tourist visits. Of the 23 applications, 20 met the eligibility criteria.
Since the Cambridge Scottish Festival previously received ongoing operating funding from the region in the amount of $10,000, it's getting the same amount through this grant.
The Cambridge Community Players will get just over $2,000 through the grant program based on a funding model that aligns with the number of visitors each organization sees annually.
The region calculates the amount of eligible funding available to each applicant based on each organization's annual tourist number divided by the sum total of tourists reported for all eligible applicants. That number is then multiplied by the grant program's budget.
Grant allocations are capped at a maximum of three per cent of an organization's annual operating budget.
