If you think creatively, you may just surprise yourself with where you can find funding. Consider post-pandemic economic recovery funds; cooperative funding with area businesses); mayor's discretionary funding; economic development grants (and in Europe, EU grants); local government tax funds; local lottery funds; contingency funds; and even corporate sponsorships. Another popular source of funding is governmental development agencies such as USAID (USA), CTA (Netherlands) and other similar programs. Many destinations are also accustomed to working with cooperative marketing programs, where local stakeholders that stand to benefit from the program, all share part of the overall program cost. This is a fast way to fund bigger projects, while the overall financial burden is much less on participating members. Of course you should also look into your own destination marketing budget and see if that is a funding option.

Keep in mind that our certification program also includes destination development guidance. You will not find that with any other destination certification program.