Tennessee River Resort District

Benton County, TN

The Benton County Tennessee River Resort District is dedicated to leveraging the natural beauty and resources of the Tennessee River to drive economic growth, enhance tourism, and improve the quality of life for its residents. Through strategic development and promotion, the Benton County TRRD aims to create a vibrant, sustainable community that benefits from its unique position along one of the nation’s most scenic and historically significant waterways.

Benton County TRRD Goals

Economic Development

• Attracting Investment: The TRRD aims to attract businesses and investors to the region by offering incentives and a conducive environment for growth.
• Boosting Local Economy: Increased business activities and tourism directly contribute to the economic prosperity of the communities within the district.

Tourism Promotion

• Highlighting Attractions: The TRRD focuses on promoting the natural, cultural, and historical attractions along the Tennessee River, drawing visitors from near and far.
• Marketing Campaigns: Implementing targeted marketing strategies to showcase the region’s unique offerings, such as outdoor activities, festivals, and scenic beauty.
• Enhancing Visitor Experience: Developing and maintaining high-quality facilities and services to ensure a positive experience for tourists.

Recreational Activities

• Outdoor Recreation: Promoting activities like boating, hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and other outdoor pursuits that utilize the river and surrounding natural resources.
• Public Spaces: Developing parks, trails, and other recreational areas that enhance the quality of life for residents and attract visitors.
• Event Hosting: Organizing and supporting events such as festivals, sports competitions, and cultural celebrations that bring people together and highlight the region’s assets.

Community Development

• Infrastructure Improvement: Investing in infrastructure projects that support tourism and recreation, such as roads, marinas, and public facilities.
• Quality of Life: Enhancing amenities and services that improve the overall quality of life for residents, making the area more attractive to potential new residents and businesses.
• Environmental Stewardship: Ensuring sustainable practices that protect the natural beauty and health of the Tennessee River and its ecosystem.

Partnerships and Collaboration

• Public-Private Partnerships: Encouraging collaboration between government entities, private businesses, and non-profit organizations to achieve shared goals.
• Regional Cooperation: Working with neighboring communities and regions to create a cohesive strategy for promoting the entire Tennessee River corridor.

Objectives:

The main objectives of TRRD Project Event Support Program are to:

• Maximize the economic, tourism, social and cultural benefits of major events to Benton County.
• Identify and assist in developing events which are appropriate to our image as a family-friendly, outdoor destination.
• Integrate the promotion of major events with the marketing programs of Benton County to maximize the benefits for tourism.

Program Principles:

• The Program is a support system that provides levels of assistance to events that achieve tourism outcomes of benefit to our region. The program aims to support the structure and marketing activities of its tourism partners.
• The Program seeks to identify and assist those events that express and contribute to the unique identity of the tourism of Benton County.
• The Program supports events with significant tourism potential that can support our strategic direction.
• Projects/events that are “market ready”, with a developed marketing plan and the capacity to grow incrementally over the funding period will have a greater likelihood of gaining cash support.
• Projects/events are required to demonstrate a well-structured and organized management committee with the ability to handle issues such as public liability and insurance.
• It is important that events demonstrate that they will not be reliant on continued support from TRRD for their long-term survival or growth.

Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:

Preference will be given to those tourism projects/events that will:

• Have clearly defined objectives and measurable outcomes as part of an appropriate marketing plan identifying target markets.
• Increase incremental tourism business by influencing visitors’ intention to travel to the region and to extend their length of stay.
• Have event sustainability as evidenced by strong business/community support, and potential to grow and become self-funding.
• Have a well-organized and structured management committee with capacity to handle event management issues.
• Projects that have demonstrable long-term impact on building or rebuilding our tourism infrastructure.

Successful applicants will be subject to the following core conditions:

• This program is available for projects/events taking place between 1 July and 30 June each applicable year.
• Progress reports on the project/event (including its marketing) are to be submitted to TRRD at agreed regular intervals.
• TRRD reserves the right as a condition of funding to make use of project/event data for the purpose of market research and evaluation to enable long term development of events.
• Conditions may include provision of a detailed evaluation and financial statement, detailing expenditure of the grant, which must be provided within two months of the completion of the project. Failure to submit this evaluation report and financial statement will deem the applicant’s ineligible for future funding.
• Funding may be provided prior to the project/event with the balance available after receipt of the Post Event Evaluation information.
• Project/events will not be funded retrospectively.
• Funding support is available to enhance the project/event and not to replace previous funding.
• Grant monies are to be expended on agreed costs only – for example, costs may include advertising and promotion, marketing/public relation consultancies, market research, marketing planning, research and so on.
• Grant monies will not be used for contributions to charitable groups. Where some proceeds go to charity, evidence will be required to show adequate funds are retained for the ongoing operation of the event.
• Where funding support is sought for a project/event that is a smaller part of an overall marketing plan, the application should also include a copy of the overall marketing plan.
• All collateral marketing materials and advertising associated with the project/event must wherever carry the TRRD logo.
• Should an application be successful all records relating to the project/event including expenditure must be retained by the applicant and made available for tourism marketing research.

TRRD applications should be submitted to Jean Rush at the Benton County Mayor’s Office, Benton County Court House, 1 Court Square, Camden, TN 38320 before the 15th of each month and 2 months prior to the event date.