Bill > S2194

This bill establishes a grant program called the "cultural tourism marketing fund program" to provide financial assistance to arts organizations, cultural groups, and historic sites for tourism marketing and promotion. The program will be administered by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism in consultation with the Massachusetts Cultural Council. The program aims to strengthen and elevate the cultural, geographic, and creative diversity in the Commonwealth by providing grants based on criteria such as geographic diversity, cultural diversity, inclusion of marginalized or underrepresented cultures, and the applicant's existing marketing resources. Eligible grant expenditures include various tourism-related activities, and eligible grant recipients include nonprofit organizations focused on arts, culture, humanities, or interpretive sciences, as well as for-profit creative businesses in the Commonwealth. The funding for this program will be at least 1% of the annual receipts of the Tourism Fund.