A. As used in this section: “Promoting tourism” means activities and expenditures designed to increase tourism in Virginia, including (i) advertising, publicizing, or otherwise distributing information for the purpose of attracting and welcoming tourists; (ii) developing strategies to expand tourism; (iii) funding the promotion or marketing operations of a tourism entity; and (iv) funding marketing and operations of special events and festivals designed to attract tourists. “Tourism entity” means a locality, a destination marketing organization, or a regional attractions marketing agency.
B. For each fiscal year, an amount estimated to be equal to the amount of revenue collected from all state taxes imposed under Chapter 6 (§ 58.1-600 et seq.) of Title 58.1, after accounting for all designations and distributions of such revenue under § 58.1-638, on accommodations fees, as defined in § 58.1-602, shall be appropriated to the Authority for the purpose of providing grants to promote tourism pursuant to the provisions of this section. The amount of grants available under the program for a fiscal year shall be limited to the amount appropriated under this subsection.
C. The Authority shall administer a program to provide grants to tourism entities for the purpose of promoting tourism in Virginia. To be eligible for a grant, a tourism entity shall demonstrate that its proposed use of the grant will have a positive and significant impact on tourism in Virginia. Grants shall be subject to the following restrictions:
1. No more than 50 percent of the funds available for a fiscal year shall be distributed for the purposes of promotion or marketing operations of a tourism entity or for special events or grants.
2. Funding for the promotion or marketing operations of a tourism entity, special events, or grants shall require a 50 percent cash or in-kind match from the grant recipient.
3. Recipients located in the same qualifying region, as defined in § 2.2-2484, shall not be awarded more than 20 percent, in the aggregate of all grants awarded within such region, of the total funds available for a fiscal year.
4. A single recipient of funding under this section shall not be awarded more than 15 percent of the total funds available for a fiscal year. This subdivision shall not apply to contracts entered into by the Authority for statewide tourism promotion or marketing.
5. Funds available for disbursement shall not be used for capital projects or for the design, construction, rehabilitation, repair, installation, or purchase of any building, structure, or sign in Virginia.
D. The Authority shall promulgate guidelines and regulations as it deems necessary to implement this section.