The Chattanooga Tourism Co. announce the awarding of $605.5K to 28 local culture, heritage, and arts partners through the second round of the Cultural Tourism Advancement Grant. This year's process was highly competitive, with 39 applicants requesting $1.3 million in assistance for events, enhancements, exhibits, and more. 

"We are proud to help elevate our tourism community through the CTA Grant," said Barry White, CEO and president. "This program is a great collaborative opportunity for us to support our partners in enhancing their offerings for our community's economic and social prosperity. The travel and tourism industry is a vital economic driver for Hamilton County, welcoming 15.6 million visitors annually, and we strive to ensure a constant pulse of positive and diverse experiences to excite the traveler's imagination in finding their way to Chattanooga."

The 2022 CTA Grant was awarded to the following organizations:  

Association for Visual Arts, 4 Bridges Arts Festival 
Bessie Smith Cultural Center
Chattanooga Presents
Chattanooga Segway Tours
Chattanooga Theatre Center
Chattanooga Zoo
Creative Discovery Museum
Davis Wayne’s 
Friends of the Festival, Riverfront Nights
Gate 11 Distillery
High Point Climbing 
Hunter Museum of American Art
Lookout Mountain Conservancy
National Medal of Honor Heritage Center
Oddstory Brewing Company & Taproom
Outshine Adventures 
Sculpture Fields at Montague Park
Songbirds Foundation 
SoundCorps 
Splash Summer Arts Festival 
Stove Works
String Theory
Tennessee River Gorge Trust
Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
The Company Lab
The Hot Chocolatier
The Land Trust for Tennessee
The Pop-Up Project 

CTA Grant funds are sourced from lodging taxes paid by visitors when spending the night in Hamilton County lodging establishments. With those visitor-generated funds, it inspires more people to visit and connect them with unique experiences. Each year, Hamilton County hosts over 15 million visitors who spend $1.5 billion in the community. On an average day, that’s 43,000 visitors spending $4.1 million in the community; 15,000 of those visitors stay the night in hotels. Visitor spending is taxed, and those taxes result in each household saving $868 on their property tax bill each year. A healthy visitor economy is imperative to the lifestyle we enjoy and what makes Chattanooga the special place we all know and love, said officials. 

The grant is designed to enhance a wide range of tourism-related projects focused on increasing brand awareness for Chattanooga and driving visitor demand. Each grant supports the Chattanooga Tourism Co.'s mission of promoting and developing visitor experiences that enhance the economic and social prosperity of Hamilton County.  

In awarding funds, the greatest consideration is given to a project/program's ability to attract diverse audiences, create economic impact, encourage visitors to travel to or extend their stay in Hamilton County, enhance the visitor experience, collaborate with other local organizations/artists, and improve our quality of place. 

Stay up to date and find additional details on funded projects here.