Corbin Tourism spearheading new ‘Appalachian Triangle of Kentucky’ group marketing effort

An alliance of eight tourism commissions in our region received some good news recently when they were informed that a total of $350,000 in federal funds would be allocated to them in order to launch a brand new marketing campaign designed to boost tourism across seven Kentucky counties.

This new multi-jurisdictional venture, which has been dubbed the Appalachian Triangle of Kentucky, includes London-Laurel County Tourism, Whitley County Tourism, Manchester Tourism, Bell County Tourism, Barbourville Tourism, Harlan City Tourism, Rockcastle County Tourism and is being spearheaded by Maggy Monhollen and the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission.

“All monies distributed are for marketing purposes only,” Monhollen explained. “I am all about our region, and we do have several assets to promote, so we, along with many of our neighbors, came up with this marketing campaign called the Appalachian Triangle of Kentucky.”

Monhollen said she received a letter from the governor’s office not long ago, informing her that an application that the group had submitted last year had been approved, and that they would be receiving the $350,000. One stipulation is the group will have to contribute a ten percent match, so each of the seven entities have agreed to contribute $4,500 ($35,000 total).

As for what exactly will be done with these newly acquired funds, Monhollen said that she has contacted an advertising agency out of Louisville, called Red Tag Advertising. This agency will be tasked with several different duties, including the design of a new logo for the group, producing materials that can be handed out, running a social media campaign, and launching a website that will allow visitors to easily navigate between all of the individual tourism commissions’ web pages. Commercials and videography work are also being discussed.

“We would like to launch this new campaign sometime this spring,” Monhollen said. “We all share the commonality of having outdoor destinations, so we want to launch it during the peak season.”

These specially designated funds must be spent by the end of next year, but Monhollen said that the goal is for the Appalachian Triangle of Kentucky to be a sustained effort moving forward.