Published: 04/26/2021 3:35:53 PM

AMHERST – A marketing campaign to attract visitors to attractions in Amherst and the surrounding communities is carried out with the support of a government grant.

The Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce has received a US $ 116,655 award from the State Department of Travel and Tourism as part of US $ 1.59 million awarded to 59 tourism organizations, chambers of commerce and local authorities.

With the largest restoration grant received in the Pioneer Valley, the Chamber can showcase the Amherst area, including Hadley, Belchertown, Sunderland, Leverett, Shutesbury and Pelham, as a hub for culture, education, dining, farming and the local economy.

The Chamber’s Executive Director Claudia Pazmany said in a statement that the grant is a vote of confidence in western Massachusetts.

“We all know why we live and work here, but this enables us to tell this story to attract visitors and to increase our pride in all of those who have now moved here as a result of the urban flight of the pandemic A real value for the quality of life that is important to us here, ”said Pazmany.

Tigerweb, an Amherst-based marketing company, will lead the initiative, which uses photography, video and creative content to focus on farm-to-table businesses, outdoor leisure venues, and arts and cultural institutions such as museums and historic sites.

The Chamber works with the Amherst Business Improvement District, the Five Colleges Consortium and Museums10, the Hampshire Regional Tourism Council and city officials in Amherst and Sunderland.

Grants from the state program are aimed at supporting the My Local MA campaign, improving the recreation of tourism and increasing the number of non-resident visitors.

“The tourism and hospitality industries are vital to the economic well-being of Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker in a press release announcing the grants. “Our administration recognizes the challenges this industry faced during the pandemic and these grants will aid the recovery of the Commonwealth by allowing grant recipients to capitalize on their local strengths.”

State Senator Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, wrote a letter on behalf of the Chamber in favor of the grant and explaining how the Amherst economy has been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 since the University of Massachusetts Amherst and other colleges in the March 2020. and mostly operated in autumn and spring with reduced capacities.

“The lack of graduation ceremonies, sporting events and family weekends, and the sharp decline in the number of students in the area have crippled the Amherst economy,” Comerford wrote.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.