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

FLOYD COUNTY, VA – Floyd County (VA) Tourism Office announced that it has 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.

“We are thrilled to be supporting U.S. Travel’s Project: Time Off with our brand new Crush Friday campaign. The Crush Friday initiative is a 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,” said Rita McClenny, president and CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation. “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 be working in partnership with the VA Tourism Corporation – and local partners – on this 2018 campaign encouraging folks to take that vacation day – and do so in Virginia – and especially in Floyd, Virginia, ” shared Pat Sharkey, Floyd County Tourism Director.

The Floyd Tourism Office received a $10,000 grant for their Crush Friday project. Local Floyd businesses and organizations already committed to partnering in the project with the Floyd Tourism Office include: Floyd County Government, Town of Floyd, Floyd Country Store, Floyd Chamber of Commerce, Chateau Morrisette Winery, Chantilly Farm, Five Mile Mountain, On the Water, Riverstone Farm, Stonewall B&B and Floyd Yoga Jam.

Crush Friday in Floyd will include suggested itineraries and special promotions starting on Thursday nights through the weekend in Floyd. Crush Friday visitors can stop by the Floyd Visitor Center to pick up their Crush Friday in Floyd passport that offers them special deals and activities. Specials and itineraries will be posted on VisitFloydVA.com website and will change quarterly throughout the year. Visitors who use their passport are also eligible for Crush Friday in Floyd getaway packages valued at over $500 given away later in the year and good through the following year.

What can folks do in Floyd Virginia? Get outside on the mountain top- Bike, Hike, Float Floyd; Sip the Spirits (beer, wine, shine) at our wineries, new brewery, distillery and many restaurants; and Move to the Music at numerous venues and festivals Thursday through Sundays. Floyd County is nestled atop the Blue Ridge Plateau bordering 40 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Southwest Virginia.

“For a small mountain community, we offer an amazing diversity of things to do and enjoy! And VA Tourism Corporation continues to provide incredible support to communities like ours to help us share about our great offerings”.

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. Virginia and Floyd Tourism offer a call to millennials to take a well-deserved Friday and crush it in Floyd, Virginia.

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.

Floyd tourism businesses and organizations are encouraged to come to our Crush Friday in Floyd Community Kick-off Meeting on Wednesday, February 7 at 5-8pm at Dogtown Roadhouse to learn more about the project and how they can participate. Presentation starts at 5:30pm with pizza provided and bar tab option.

For more information about Crush Friday in Floyd, go to www.VisitFloydVA.com or contact tourismdirector@floydcova.org or 540-239-8509

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