Oneida County Tourism Gives Back To Promote The Area

Utica, NY (WIBX) - Oneida County Tourism presented monetary grant awards totaling $81,825.00 to twenty local businesses and organizations today. Kelly Blazosky, President of the tourism agency says it was possible thanks to stragic budget planning and the bed tax. She says when travelers spend the night at local hotels, they pay a bed tax and that money is put back into the community.

Blazosky said, "Our mission is to bring more people, when they're enticed to stay overnight, that increases the tax, so the more people we can get to come to the county, spend the night, then that increases the pool of money that we have to market the county with, so it's a perpetual cycle." She says the awards are an investment because the money will go towards promoting attractions and events in the area.

Blazosky says this is the inaugural year of the grant awards, and added that organizers plan on doing it again next year. She says local businesses who are part of the tourism industry should attend grant program work shops next year and to be thorough in their application to understand the complete mechanics of the program.

The awards range from $1,000 to $7,500. Mary Jo Beach, General Manager, Townsquare Media, was selected to serve as one of the members of the independent review panel charged with reviewing the applications. "We had three Marketing and Media professionals serve on that review panel because looking at the strength of their marketing plans was key in making the decision, as to whether it was a strong application or not, and so we felt it was important to have radio and the news media outlets represented," Blazosky said.