Multi-Season Tourism Micro Grant Program

The 2023 Multi-Season Tourism Micro Grant Program will give members of PEI Regional Tourism Associations (RTAs) and Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) the opportunity to try new event initiatives outside of peak season. The concept is to extend the season and focus on driving new business from Sunday to Thursday during the week.

The micro-grant will be administered through a partnership of Tourism PEI, the RTAs and DMOs, including:

• Central Coastal Tourism Partnership
• Discover Charlottetown 
• Explore Summerside
• Island East Tourism Group
• North Cape Coastal Tourism Partnership
• Tourism Cavendish Beach

The goal of this program is to allow operators the opportunity to drive new business during off-peak seasons and off-peak hours and to test new engaging activations with potentially new audiences while minimizing risk.

Program Details

What are the eligibility requirements?

The physical tourism operation must be located on PEI and the business, where applicable, must provide a current and active PEI Business Registration number and hold an appropriate licence to operate.

All non-Canadian or publicly traded companies or companies owned by the same are excluded from this program. Additionally, corporate-run operations of a franchise network with establishments located outside of PEI are excluded from this program.    

Eligible applicants must be for-profit organizations, a member of the RTA and/or DMO to which the application is addressed and be operating within one of the following sectors:

• tourism establishment as licensed under the Tourism Industry Act such as hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, inn, resort, cottage operation, campground;
  • establishment must be used for business activity and not, whole or in part, for primary residential purposes;
  • for a cottage operation, the owner must have more than one cottage unit;
  • for a bed & breakfast, where the owner resides to assist with operations and has a minimum of at least 4 guest bedrooms with private bathrooms that are assigned to the exclusive use of a guest or party of guests and hospitality is provided by the tourism operator. 
• arts & culture (theatres, concert venues, exhibitors, museums)
• food and beverage service (e.g. restaurant, bar, brewery);
• locally-owned retail or gift shop that benefits from tourism;
• tourism experience provider; and
• adventure and attraction (e.g., nature guide, kayaking, amusement park)
• RTA and DMO led projects are eligible for funding.

When should events take place?

Event and promotions must take place between Sunday and Thursday (not weekends) and outside of July and August. All funded activities must be completed by March 31st, 2024.

What are eligible expenses?

Eligible expenses are to be incurred for new programming and/or product offerings only and may include the following: 

• entertainment and/or event hosts, e.g. musicians, trivia hosts, sommelier
• marketing and promotion, e.g. social media, advertising and graphic design
• audio visual and/or lighting
• space rental and other rental requirements
• décor and infrastructure, e.g. martini glasses for new Martini Mondays, fire pit(s) for outdoor activations, etc.

Existing programming and/or product offerings are not eligible. 

Provincial government cannot guarantee funding to all applicants, nor can government ensure that the total amount requested by any successful applicant will be granted. The decision to fund all or part of an applicant’s request will depend on the fit with the program intent and eligibility criteria, as well as the overall demand for the program funds.

What is the value of a micro grant?

Your respective RTA or DMO may provide a grant from $250 to $500 CAD per project. This fund is not limited to just one grant per business or organization. Funding will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis.

What is the deadline to apply?

Applications will be accepted until March 1, 2024, or until funds have been exhausted. 

Application Process

How do I apply?

• Business name
• Your name
• Name of event or concept
• Date of event
• Name any partnerships formed for this event
• Identify event capacity
• Detailed description of your ultimate goal, if chosen to receive this micro-grant

The RTAs and DMOs are the delivery agents for this program. All final decisions are those of Tourism PEI. 

Are there any other requirements?

Within 30 days post-event, provide a detailed one-page recap of results to your RTA or DMO within 30 days.

Who may I contact for more information?

Contact your local regional tourism association or destination management organization

• Central Coastal Tourism Partnership: Jillian O'Halloran - info@centralcoastalpei.com
• Discover Charlottetown: Heidi Zinn - heidi@discovercharlottetown.com
• Explore Summerside: Rose Dennis - rose@exploresummerside.com
• Island East Tourism Group: Lori MacGregor - pointseastpei@gmail.com
• North Cape Coastal Tourism Partnership: Amanda Barlow - info@northcapedrive.com
• Tourism Cavendish Beach Inc.: Darcy Butler - info@cavendishbeachpei.com