Nebraska awarded $282,400 for three Scenic Byway projects

The grants are part of the Federal Highway Administration’s National Scenic Byways Program that recognizes and enhances the archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational or scenic qualities of roads. Grants are used for wide-ranging projects, including visitors information centers, scenic overlooks, bike paths, pedestrian trails, safety features, and educational and promotional materials. Since 1992, the program has awarded more than $275 million for more than 2,100 scenic byways projects throughout the 50 United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

“Helping our rural towns and villages compete for their share of tourism revenue and branding as places where tourists want to visit is vitally important to strengthening and building their economies and the state’s rural economy as a whole,” said Jim Pearson, state byway coordinator for the Nebraska Department of Roads. “To this end, we will continue to enhance and promote Nebraska’s nine designated byways in order to provide the traveling public with quality experiences that ensure their return trips and offer communities along the byways with a steady source of income.”

“Travelers who restrict themselves to driving I-80 through Nebraska not only miss some of the most amazing scenery, but some of the most fascinating gems in the form of museums, attractions, shops, restaurants, and lodging found anywhere in the U.S.,” said Christian Hornbaker, director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development’s (DED) Travel and Tourism Division. “The federal and state byway programs represent an economic home run for all entities involved, including the byway communities and villages, the Nebraska Department of Roads, and DED’s Travel and Tourism Division.”

The three Nebraska projects receiving funding are:

• Nebraska Byways Internet Enhancement—$121,600 will be used to enhance the Byways section of the VisitNebraska.org website. New features will include a searchable events/festivals calendar by byway; an improved photography gallery (including more high resolution images that can be downloaded by the media; an audio-visual tour of each byway (video pod casts that can be viewed on computer screens and downloaded to iPods); and an interactive reunion section that features additional activities for people to enjoy while they’re visiting specific Nebraska locales for family reunions.

• Viral Byway Marketing-Cost Effective Strategies to get out Messages—$116,800 will go toward creating 10-15 second attention-getting videos about each byway. The videos will then be distributed as email attachments, with the goal that people will forward them to others, creating a “viral” spread of the messages. Pod casting versions also will be created for distribution on the VisitNebraska.org website.

• Branding Differentiation/Individual Byways/Print Ads—$44,000—will fund the creation of nine individual print ads that attract tourists to unique features of each byway under an umbrella theme. The unique experience of each byway will be emphasized through photography that depicts those experiences. The ads will position each byway as a destination in and of itself. The ads will be tested in key regional markets before being placed in targeted publications. Once tested, the ads will be placed in the Travel and Tourism Division’s print advertising rotation and made available to each byway for its own use.

FOR INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Jim Pearson at 402-479-4881, or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Christian Hornbaker at 402-471-3794, or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it