Tourism Grant Application

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Beginning January 1, 2017 the State Law mandates the City forward to a tourism commission any room tax revenue exceeding the amount the municipality may retain. The Commission must spend room tax revenue on tourism promotion and tourism development.

Tourism Promotion and Tourism Development is defined in the Wisconsin Statutes to mean any of the following that are significantly used by transient tourists and reasonably likely to generate paid overnight stays at more than one establishment in the municipality on which room tax is imposed:

Marketing projects, including advertising buys, creation and distribution of printed or electronic promotional tourist materials, or efforts to recruit conventions, sporting events or motor coach groups.
Transient tourist informational services.
Tangible municipal development, including a convention center.

Transient tourist means any person residing for a continuous period of less than one month in a hotel, motel or other furnished accommodations.

The Commission is obligated to submit on an annual basis a detail report of its room tax expenditures to the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.

The Room Tax Tourism Grant program is designed to promote tourism related activity within the City of Wausau with specific emphasis on tourism that is reasonably likely to generate overnight stays in hotel facilities.

Grant Limits

Application Deadlines

Eligible Projects and Use of Funds

Design, production and placement costs for marketing that targets visitors from outside the City of Wausau and its surrounding communities. This includes but is not limited to: brochures, fliers, posters, direct mail, registration materials, print ads, radio ads, television ads. Website enhancements that are reasonably likely to increase tourism and overnight hotel stay. Web and social media marketing that increase traffic of visitors from outside the City of Wausau and its surrounding communities.
Purchase of marketing lists, search engine marketing ad words, google ad words.
Offsite signage such as billboards targeting visitors that live outside the City and its surrounding communities.
Fees must be payable to a third party vendor. In-kind fees are not eligible.

Eligible Participants

Not for Profit Organizations with an IRS determination.
Not for Profit Organization is in good standing with the City.
Event is located in or near the City of Wausau and offers verifiable economic benefits to the City of Wausau through increased room nights.
The event or promotional opportunity should demonstrate economic impact as it relates to tourism and is reasonably likely to generate multiple hotel stays.
Repeat grant applicants have filed timely post event reports.

Evaluation Criteria

Completeness and quality of the application. 10 points
A well-developed marketing strategy that can reasonably be expected to generate multiple hotel stays. 30 points
The event and application substantiate local economic impact from:
- Local visitors. 5 points
- Day trip visitors. 15 points
- Overnight visitors. 30 points
The methodology proposed to survey attendees is well developed and will likely generate good quality information regarding event attendees and whether they are local or non-local. 10 points
The event is unique, unduplicated and creative. 20 points
Expected/historical event attendance:
- 0-1,000 attendees annually. 5 points
- 1,000-5,000 attendees annually. 10 points
- 5,000+ attendees annually. 15 points
Event located within the City of Wausau. 5 points

Submit a Room Tax Application

Wausau, WI

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