ATAX committee hears a string of festival, museum and trail marketing requests

The ATAX committee heard a broad set of presentations from festival organizers, museums and trail advocates seeking marketing and visitor‑experience grants intended to increase overnight stays and local spending. Highlights included a $60,000 ask from the Beaufort Film Festival to expand national and regional publicity; a $29,000 request from Friends of Fort Fremont to scale search‑engine advertising and print placements after a reported 10% attendance gain; and a Friends of the Spanish Moss Trail proposal to fund app updates, rack cards and video to promote a 19,000‑visitor trail.

Presenters frequently cited out‑of‑market visitor shares as the main metric for ATAX eligibility: Stacy Applegate said BIFF drew attendees from 34 states and six countries, Wendy Wilson reported Fort Fremont increased its share of visitors from >50 miles from 50% to 63%, and multiple presenters noted partnerships with the CVB and destination marketing to track heads and beds. Committee members asked for more precise head‑and‑bed metrics and emphasized that applicants should document how ATAX funds will translate into overnight stays.