(The Center Square) – The Port of Seattle’s Tourism Marketing Support Program is doubling grants for organizations to up to $20,000 each.
The current year marks nine straight years that the port matches funds dedicated to promoting Washington state as a tourist destination.
The Port of Seattle’s recent increase to tourism grant funding now allocates $600,000 to the program over a two-year period rather than just one year. The port previously funded $200,000 per year.
“With this additional funding and increasing emphasis on sustainable tourism, this program will help provide the capacity for organizations to offer innovative and stewardship-driven ways to bring visitors to responsibly enjoy the rich, natural resources and cultures of our region,” Port of Seattle Commissioner Fred Felleman said in a news release.
Grant funding supports eligible Washington-based organizations including chambers of commerce, destination marketing organizations, counties, cities, port districts, Native American nations, museums and nonprofit organizations that utilize events to attract out-of-state visitors.
The 2024-2025 Tourism Marketing Support Program offers two tiers of grants following the authorized changes made by the Seattle Port Commission. Tier one offers up to $20,000 per awardee and tier two offers up to $10,000 per awardee.
The awarded funds must be used for advertising, promoting or distributing information to attract visitors from out of state via the use of Seattle Port-owned facilities to a Washington state destination. These facilities include the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, cruise terminals or recreational marinas.
The program requires a two-to-one match in fund expenditures.
According to the Seattle Port, 178 projects have been awarded over $1.3 million in port grant funds and $1 million in matching funds from participating organizations since the program’s inception in 2016.