Highland County Receives $10,000 Grant from Virginia Tourism Corporation “Crush Friday” Program Marketing Fund

Today, the Highland County Chamber of Commerce and the Highland Tourism Council announced they have received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) “Crush Friday Program” grant fund. “Crush Friday” is part of VTC’s ongoing efforts to support U.S. Travel’s “Project: Time Off”initiative, encouraging citizens to utilize unused vacation days. In total, VTC awarded $250,000 to 25 tourism marketing projects across the Commonwealth to help increase visitation and revenue for Virginia’s localities through tourism. More than 155 partners will participate in this cross-state marketing program effort.

The Highland County Chamber of Commerce and the Highland Tourism Council will partner with Fair Lawn Farm, Dare to Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship Center, The Recorder, The Highland Center, and the Highland County Fair Association to supply matched marketing efforts for the project.

Tourism is an instant revenue generator for Virginia. In 2016, tourism generated $24 billion in revenue, supported nearly 230,000 jobs and provided $1.7 billion in state and local taxes. Dollars invested in tourism are proven to provide a 7:1 return in tax revenue for Virginia, and the grant awards and matching funds provide a stimulus to localities seeking to increase tourism visitation and revenue.

American workers left 662 million vacation days on the table last year. Of these workers, the millennial sub-set is the most likely to want to be seen as work martyrs. In an effort to be seen as valuable to the company, a work martyr is the most likely to forego taking vacation days. The VTC Crush Friday Program is designed to encourage the millennial work martyr to give vacation a try. VTC and its industry partners aim to change that mindset and show the benefit that even one day of vacation can have. The Virginia Tourism Corporation and the Highland County Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Council offer a call to millennials to take a well-deserved Friday and crush it in Highland County.

“We are thrilled to be supporting U.S. Travel’s 'Project: Time Off' with our brand new Crush Friday campaign,” said Rita McClenny, president and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation.  “The Crush Friday initiative is an engaging, creative, and collaborative way for Virginia localities to leverage critical marketing dollars to attract more visitors to the Commonwealth, increasing the economic impact of tourism. This program will also help to change the way millennials think about vacation and the importance of time off not only to their quality of life, but quality of work.”

“We are excited to partner with the Virginia Tourism Corporation through the Crush Friday grant,” said Dorothy Stephenson, executive director of the Highland County Chamber of Commerce and the Highland Tourism Council. “It is so important for workers to take time off, recharge, and refresh, so they can be most efficient in their work. We are looking forward to welcoming millennial Crush Friday visitors to one of the best places in Virginia to relax – Highland County.”