OWENSBORO, Ky. — Kentucky’s tourism industry has been setting records over the past few years.

Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky, recently announced $2 million is being awarded to more than 80 tourism organizations across several counties. Visit Owensboro is among one of those organizations.

People visit the city of Owensboro for several reasons: whether it’s to tour the popular Green River Distillery, check out the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and Museum, eat some famous barbecue or all of the above. Those are just some aspects that make up the city’s tourism economy.

“Those leisure elements of Bluegrass bourbon and BBQ, sports elements, the convention elements, and then you do have some business travel,” said Dave Kirk, the destination management director for Visit Owensboro. “We have several wonderful companies in Owensboro.”

Visit Owensboro, along with 86 other tourism marketing organizations in 80 counties, are receiving funding from the state through the Regional Marketing and Matching Funds Program.

“It’s really created to help empower our local communities to tell their stories and to drive people, more visitors, and travelers into those communities to obviously boost the economy,” said Mike Mangeot, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Tourism.

Out of the almost $100,000 going to the Green River Region, Visit Owensboro will be getting about $50,000.

“It allows us to stretch our budget beyond what we normally have and get into some publications and do some digital advertising that normally our budget, a city this size, wouldn’t be able to do so it certainly opens up the door,” Kirk said.

This helps to reach people in cities in and around Kentucky so that they too can enjoy learning about the history of bluegrass music, try out the local barbecue, and check off another distillery from the Bourbon Trail.