Ferryville Tourism to celebrate six years of Rummage Along the River with help from tourism grant
Rummage Along the River receives JEM Grant ... Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett presented the Village of Ferryville with a $1,500 Joint Effort Marketing Grant for its annual Rummage Along the River. Submitted photo.
The Village of Ferryville, WI is gearing up for another successful year of “Rummage Along the River” with help from a $1,500 Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Grant from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. The 70-mile garage sale winds through multiple communities along the Great River Road. This year’s Rummage Along the River will take place May 19-20.
The Village of Ferryville aims to increase the number of shoppers and overnight stays for this year’s event. Participating communities in Wisconsin include Stoddard, Genoa, the Bad Axe Neighborhood, De Soto, Ferryville, Lynxville, Seneca and Mt. Sterling. The event is expected to attract over 1,900 visitors to the area, generating an estimated $82,000 in visitor spending. Grant funds will go toward online, print and radio advertising leading up to Rummage Along the River.
“Rummage Along the River is an excellent example of collaboration among Wisconsin communities to showcase multiple destinations and welcome new visitors to the area,” said Tourism Secretary Stephanie Klett. “We’re thrilled to once again support this event as it continues to grow and create a positive economic impact in all the villages and neighborhoods involved.”
In 2015, the tourism economy in Wisconsin totaled $19.3 billion, a more than four percent increase from 2014. Since 2010, tourism activity in the state added 18,717 jobs to the economy, an 11% increase in travel and hospitality employment opportunities for Wisconsin residents. Visitors generated $1.5 billion in state and local revenue. Wisconsin taxpayers would need to pay $640 per household in order to maintain current government services.
“This grant is vital to creating a new Rummage Along the River website and reaching even more shoppers and sellers,” said Ferryville Tourism Council member Sherry Quamme. “We are over the moon to have support from this Year 2 JEM Grant. It means the world to us.”
In Fiscal Year 2016, the Department funded 57 JEM projects, awarding a total of more than $1.1 million. Visitor expenditures driven by the marketing from these projects will exceed $31 million. JEM grant funds are available to non-profit organizations for the promotion of Wisconsin tourism events and destinations. The state can fund up to 75 percent of a project's first-year advertising and marketing costs, and provide support for second- and third-year projects with decreasing amounts for funding until projects become self-sustaining.
For information on the Joint Effort Marketing (JEM) Program and application materials, visit http://industry.travelwisconsin.com.
