In an effort to stimulate growth in Kern County and to help further the mission of both the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History and the Bakersfield Museum of Art, grants were given to the two agencies.
Rick Davis, director of the Board of Trade in Kern County, and Mike Rubio from the Board of Supervisors presented the 2007-2008 Kern County Tourism Promotion Grants on May 2. Both agencies are in the Fifth Supervisorial District and are among the agencies receiving a portion of the $250,000 made available by the supervisors during the 2007-2008-grant cycle.
The Buena Vista Museum of Natural History received $14,000 for a regional advertising campaign while the Museum of Art received $22,500 for a regional marketing campaign and promotion of the annual Via Arte Street Painting Festival.
The intent of the grant program is to fund projects that develop, promote and/or expand tourism opportunities within Kern County. The specific focus of the current cycle is to assist qualified organizations in attracting out-of-county visitors and thus increase the economic benefits of tourism to the county.
The program is administered by the Kern County Board of Trade.
Davis said that tourism is a $3 million-dollar-a-day business in Kern County. “To invest $250,000 to bring in $48.5 million in tourist dollars is a good investment,” said Davis.
Travelers contribute more than $1 billion annually to the local economy, according to figures provided by the California Travel and Tourism Commission. Mike Rubio said that people should come downtown and see what Bakersfield has to offer if they need something to do.
Rubio is a local product and attended his first and second year of college at Bakersfield College before transferring to a college in Connecticut. Koral Hancharick, executive director of the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History, said the grant will bring in tourism and will be used outside the county.
The museum is sponsored using county and private funds. It does not receive state or federal funds. This is the third Board of Trade grant they have received and is the largest.
The museum has seen a 50 percent increase over the previous year from out-of-town visitors.
“It takes about $100,000 to operate the museum on an annual basis,” said Hancharick.