The funding comes from a portion of the county’s 3% occupancy tax allocation. The 22 awards in 2024 were made to the following grantees: PFM Ventures; SUNY Fredonia; Panama Rocks; Wilson Endurance Sports; Merritt Estate Winery; Chautauqua Institution; Festivals Fredonia; North Shore Arts Alliance; Jamestown Jackals; Roger Tory Peterson Institute; Lakewood YMCA; Lucy Desi Museum; National Comedy Center; Chautauqua Harbor Hotel; Robert H. Jackson Center; Pearl City Clayhouse; Findley Lake Forward; CHQ Chamber; and, Westfield Development Corp.

According to the New York State Tourism Industry Association, in 2023, Chautauqua County experienced $314 million in tourism spending while creating nearly $24 million in county tax revenue. If not for tourism-generated state and local taxes, 35% of which comes from the bed tax, the average household in Chautauqua County would pay an extra $773 annually to maintain the same level of government revenue. Chautauqua County’s tourism industry employs over 4,500 people through direct, indirect, and induced visitor spending, the report states.

For 2025, the decision to increase the individual award amount was made in an effort to support slightly larger projects, with the goal of yielding greater benefits to the county. This adjustment was intended to provide applicants with the flexibility and resources needed to undertake more ambitious initiatives that could potentially have a larger impact on tourism in Chautauqua County.

County officials said they do not currently have clear insights as to the results of this adjustment, but they will review the findings at the end of the year. A total of 14 projects were selected to receive funding through the 2025 3% Occupancy Tax program, with a combined total of $109,866 awarded. The 14 projects in 2025 were made to the following grantees: Scott’s Peek’n Peak; The White Inn; SUPErie Adventures; Jamestown Skating Club; Dunkirk Local Development Agency; CHQ Chamber; Bemus Point Business Association; Roger Tory Peterson Institute; Chautauqua Institution; Lake Erie Wine Country; Chautauqua Watershed Conservatory; Wilson Endurance Sports; Reg Lenna Center for the Arts; and, Merritt Estate Winery.

PFM Ventures received a grant to assist with the adaptive reuse of a barn into a year-round indoor venue. PFM Ventures has hosted concerts, yoga classes, dance classes and more in this space over the last year.

“We are pleased to see our tourism economy rebound extremely well after the Covid-19 pandemic hindered travel in 2020 and 2021,” said Mark Geise, deputy county executive for economic development. “We’ve seen increased visitation and visitor spending with record visitation in the first quarter of 2025, due primarily to the extended snowmobile season, as compared to the past several years. We hope our strategic grant making will further improve our county’s destinations and event offerings, while promoting new marketing and promotional campaigns to foster further visitation.”

For more information about the county’s 3% Tourism Product Development Grant Program, contact Stephanie Nick, special projects coordinator, at nicks@chqgov.com.