The Emerging Destination Marketing Grant Program is designed to provide highly-developed, emerging tourism destinations in South Carolina with financial resources that can be leveraged against local, privately collected funds for the purpose of generating new visitation through select tourism advertising activities.

Grant amounts range from $100,000 to $200,000 and are available on a 2 to 1 reimbursable cash match.* Match funds must be private funds specifically designated for the purpose of matching state funds. In-kind matches are not allowed.

Eligibility

The applicant must be a federal non-profit organization 501(c) specifically charged with marketing tourism for a specific city or unincorporated county area in South Carolina that generated more than $700,000 per year in State Accommodations Tax in the previous fiscal year.  The destination cannot receive federal appropriations, cannot receive funding through SCPRT’s Destination Specific Marketing Fund or the agency’s Tourism Advertising Grant program, and the applicant cannot have any significant unresolved issues with any grant program administered by SCPRT.

The deadline for application submissions for the FY 23-24 Emerging Destinations Grant Cycle is June 2, 2023.

*The match requirement for the FY 23-24 Emerging Destinations Marketing program will revert to the standard 2:1 ratio, as specified in the guidelines.

For guidelines on how to apply for reimbursement, click here.

Important links

• Media Flow Chart that must be included in the application package
• SCPRT Logo Usage and Requirements
• Reimbursement Request Form