Tourism Oxford, Community Futures Oxford and Rural Oxford Economic Development Corporation are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Tourism Innovation Grant. Following a thorough review and scoring process, four local businesses will each receive $3,000 to help develop a new tourism product in 2023. Applications were reviewed based on several criteria including creativity, marketing skills, DEI, financial impact and market demand. Businesses must be able to get their product to market by the end of the calendar year.
Berrylicious Fruit Farms will renovate an outdoor space to accommodate an accessible area for their popular picnics in the patch. This space will allow for new foodie experiences and spontaneous picnic trips to the farm.
Gunn’s Hill Artisan Cheese will create permanent infrastructure for outdoor events and modernize the attraction by adding digital education signage about dairy farming and agriculture.
Sixthirtynine will use the grant to elevate the chef’s table to include locally crafted seating and will incorporate the history of the restaurant. This unique dining experience allows visitors to be seated within the kitchen where they can watch their food be prepared, interact with the chef and ask questions about the food.
Terra Nova Nordic Spa will install self sustaining structures that can be used to provide unique spa treatments or dining experiences.
When combined, the four award-winning projects will create more than seven local jobs, support 53 local suppliers, welcome more than 11,480 visitors in 2023, and invest more than $85,500 into the Oxford County economy.