Destination Specific Tourism Marketing Grant

The Destination Specific Tourism Marketing Grant, administered by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism, aims to promote tourism through recurring and potential nonrecurring funding. This grant supports local initiatives to enhance the state's tourism industry, which is vital to South Carolina's economy. Applications will be accepted quarterly starting December 2025, with funds typically released at the time of award or by October 31 for nonrecurring allocations.

NOTE:
Recurring Destination Specific Funds will be available for disbursement at the time of award. If the Appropriations Act includes nonrecurring funding for Destination Specific, grantees will be notified by SCPRT once those non-recurring funds become available for disbursement. PLEASE NOTE: Non-recurring funds are scheduled to become available for disbursement by February 20, 2026.If any recurring or non-recurring Destination Specifics funds remain unallocated after the first grant cycle, subsequent grant applications will be accepted by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism on the 1st day of each quarter beginning in December 2025. Grants submitted will be evaluated and notification will be made to the requesting organization by the 15th of the following month.
South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism
South Carolina is blessed with an abundance of natural and man-made gifts – historic cities that attract visitors from all over the world, pristine beaches that stretch for hundreds of miles, small towns that offer a unique glimpse into days gone by, blackwater rivers for a peaceful day of kayaking or canoeing, and spectacular golf courses that wow the avid amateur and challenge the best touring pros. Those gifts and more helped fuel a seasonal business called tourism and turned it into a powerhouse that now ranks as the state’s number one industry. No one could have predicted such a rosy future when the General Assembly created the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism in 1967.
Legislators assigned the agency three very specific tasks:
To help foster and promote the state’s emerging tourism industry,
To protect and promote South Carolina state parks, and
To help communities plan and develop recreational opportunities for local residents.
The funding for this program is governed by Proviso 49.2 and Proviso 49.16 in the Appropriations Act for Budget Year 2024-25.Recurring Destination Specific Funds will be available for disbursement at the time of award. If the Appropriations Act includes nonrecurring funding for Destination Specific, grantees will be notified by SCPRT once those non-recurring funds become available for disbursement. Non-recurring funds are usually available for disbursement by October 31.

Eligibility

Per Proviso 49.16, non-recurring funds are not subject to a match requirementAmount of Recurring Match: min $500,000