SECTION 1. Chapter 23A of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following new section:

Section 13V.  There shall be an established grant program for financial assistance to arts organizations, cultural groups, and historic sites for tourism marketing and promotion. The Cultural Tourism Fund program will be administered by the Mass Office of Tourism and Travel, in consultation with the Mass Cultural Council. The program will provide financial support for arts organizations, cultural groups, and historic sites to attract and increase local and regional tourism economic activity to their events and locations.

Funds shall be used to strengthen and elevate the cultural, geographic, and creative diversity in the Commonwealth. Amounts for the grants shall be in accordance with criteria established by the office of travel and tourism and in coordination with the Mass Cultural Council that are based on, but shall not be limited to, the following criteria:

1)Geographic diversity

2)Cultural diversity

3)Organizations, events, or programs that seek to amplify the stories of historically marginalized or underrepresented cultures.

4)Percentage of the applicant’s existing expenditures on marketing and promotional activities; the program shall prioritize entities that demonstrate a lack of existing resources for marketing and promotional activities.

Eligible grant expenditures shall be tourism publications, Videos, CDs and DVDs, Media advertisements, Billboards and Signage, Brochure Distribution Services, Consumer travel show expenses, Group tour marketplace expenses, Meeting/Convention & Sports Marketing Trade Shows and Expo expenses, Media Press Kits, Sponsorship of Tourism Trade Shows and Events, Bid Fees to Assist in Bringing Events to the State, and Web Site design expenses.

Eligible grant recipients shall be nonprofit organizations whose primary mission is arts, culture, the humanities, or interpretive sciences; for-profit creative businesses that are headquartered in Massachusetts and focus on the production and presentation of arts, culture, the humanities, or interpretive sciences; co-operatives or partnerships that include at least 70% artists, creative workers or culture workers.

Funding for the Cultural Tourism Marketing Fund program shall be no less than 1% of the annual receipts of the Tourism Fund.