The City of Guelph is doubling its COVID-19 tourism recovery fund to $700,000.
City council approved the additional funding of $370,000 during a meeting on May 31, which should help tourism-focused organizations and businesses through the pandemic recovery.
In a news release on Thursday, the city’s manager of tourism Matthew Hardy said the coronavirus hit the local tourism industry hard.
“Through the application process, we saw an ask of over $1.6 million to meet applicants’ recovery needs,” he said.
“We’re happy that council approved extra funding as this put us in a better position to help support the tourism industry as they find ways to recover, adapt, and position themselves for long-term success during and after the pandemic.”
The city added that 70 per cent of the funding has been distributed to 50 businesses and organizations that have already applied for funding. Of those 50, about half of them are located in the downtown area.
The remaining 30 per cent is being held to help attract visitors to Guelph when it is safe to do so.
Recipients have been chosen by a committee made up of the Guelph Chamber of Commerce, the Tourism Advisory Committee, the regional tourism organization and city staff.