Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $5 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Marketing Plan to Aid Reopening of the Tourism Economy in Florida

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $5 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Florida Tourist Industry Marketing Corporation, Inc., Tallahassee, Florida, to develop and implement a collaborative statewide tourism recovery marketing campaign to respond to the extreme economic injury caused to the Florida tourism industry as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The EDA grant will be matched with $5 million in local investment.

“President Trump is working diligently every day to support our nation’s economy following the impacts of COVID-19 through the CARES Act,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “This investment will support Florida’s tourism industry as it begins to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic and, in turn, will create a stronger and more resilient state economy for the future.”

“This investment comes at a crucial time to help Florida’s and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide hard-working Americans with new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “EDA is pleased to invest this CARES Act funding to provide Florida with the resources it needs to support its tourism sector.”

“The tourism industry is critically important to Florida’s economy, and I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Commerce is investing in its recovery,” said Senator Marco Rubio. “These CARES Act funds will greatly benefit Florida’s tourism industry as it begins to rebound from the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Apalachee Regional Planning Council (RPC), Central Florida RPC, East Central Florida RPC, Emerald Coast RPC, North Central Florida RPC, Northeast Florida RPC, South Florida RPC, Southwest Florida RPC, Tampa Bay RPC and Treasure Coast RPC. EDA funds these RPCs to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

The CARES Act, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump, provides EDA with $1.5 billion for economic development assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. For complete information, please visit our recently updated EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance page.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.