Rural regions win funds to increase tourism business

From April 1860 to October 1861, young men on horseback carried mail 1,800 miles from San Francisco and Sacramento to St. Joseph, Mo., via the Pony Express Trail, the route through Nevada roughly following the Highway 50 corridor.

Now the state government is helping to finance an effort to draw increased tourism along the Pony Express route.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism last week announced a second round of grants to help Nevada's rural areas promote tourism, and the commission earmarked its largest grant $42,676 to Pony Express Territory Nevada. The regional tourism group will place several ads in Sunset

Magazine to draw visitors to the region. Towns expected to benefit from

Old West seekers include Fallon, Fernley, Ely, Austin and Eureka.

Among other grant recipients were:

* Carson City Convention and Visitors Bureau, which received $26,241 to

place two ads in the spring edition of the History Channel Travel Magazine showcasing the history of Carson City, Virginia City, Carson Valley and other locations.

* Nevada Wedding Association, which received $14,080 to promote weddings statewide. The organization expects to draw more than 7,000 weddings to the state, primarily at Lake Tahoe and in Las Vegas. The grant will be used for ads in Bridal Guide and Nevada magazines, as well as for Bay Area wedding trade shows.

* Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority, $7,500 to promote its three-day Sesquicentennial Celebration.

* Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, $10,000 for improvements to the BlueLakeTahoeMeeting.com Web site, which details available meeting space and conference facilities at South Lake Tahoe and Stateline.

The total amount of grants $381,531 was lowered after the tourism commission's budget was cut during special legislative session. Grants require matching contributions or in-kind contributions from beneficiaries.

"The rural grant program is a vital tool in our mission to attract visitors to Nevada and generate income tax revenue," said Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki, who is chairman of the Nevada Commission on Tourism.

"As the state faces a major economic downturn, we've had to make significant cuts to the commission's budget. But we were able to preserve essential funding for these grants that enable our rural communities to market themselves."