Cape Charles Main Street receives Va. Tourism Grant

Cape Charles Main Street has received $10,000 from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) DMO WanderLove Recovery Grant Program, a new grant made available to Virginia’s Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) across the Commonwealth that have been heavily impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic to fund recovery marketing initiatives. $866,504 in marketing grant funds were awarded to 90 Destination Marketing Organizations as part of the DMO WanderLove Recovery Grant program.

Cape Charles Main Street will use the VTC WanderLOVE grant funds to implement an integrated marketing campaign targeting day-trippers and weekenders to “Discover Cape Charles Virginia’s Cape”. Our goal with this campaign is to help Cape Charles not only recover from the impact of COVID 19 but to extend shoulder seasons and build longer term economic stability by helping more visitors experience the joy of a WanderLove road trip to Cape Charles from Fall through Spring.

“We look forward to welcoming visitors to Cape Charles and the Eastern Shore. Our small and very friendly Chesapeake Bay and Seaside community offers visitors plenty to do safely. Beautiful small towns, great eating establishments, incomparable outdoors spaces for walking, kayaking, paddle boarding, and enjoying the beach are all available while continuing to social distance” said Chairman, John Coker Eastern Shore of Virginia Toursim Commission.

As Virginia begins reopening, there is a lot of pent-up demand for leisure travel and people are seeking safe, close-to-home destinations that allow for social distancing and access to open spaces. With this in mind, the WanderLove campaign provides travel inspiration for road trips, outdoor recreation, hidden gems, small towns, and Virginia’s signature LOVEworks program.

“Virginia tourism is a critical sector of our economy and has been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “Getting travelers back on the road and spending money in our cities and towns is one of the fastest ways to inject dollars back into our economy and our communities. The Virginia Tourism Corporation’s DMO WanderLove Recovery Grants gives localities the ability to market their destination as safe and welcoming when visitors are ready to resume travel.”

Tourism is one of the Commonwealth’s largest economic engines, with visitors to Cape Charles spending more than 17,420,000 in 2018, supporting120 work opportunities and contributing $1,459,311 in local and state tax revenue. The tourism and hospitality industries have also been among the hardest-hit by the pandemic, experiencing decreased revenue and job loss, along with the temporary closure of many tourism-related businesses. A revived tourism economy can help spur new economic activity and inject critical funds back into Virginia communities.

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