CARSON CITY — The Nevada Commission on Tourism (NCOT) has awarded 111 grants worth more than $662,000 to help rural communities promote attractions that draw visitors and generate revenue for local economies, Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki announced Thursday.

“NCOT’s rural grants program has endured decades of economic ups and downs, so it is with great pleasure that we can continue to award them to the communities that bring visitors to Nevada,” said Krolicki, chair of NCOT. “The grants help communities promote their fine attractions through online marketing, advertising, public relations and printing of brochures and maps.”

NCOT awards grants twice a year to public entities such as visitor’s authorities, cities and chambers of commerce and each grant must be matched in value with local funds or labor. Grant recipients in the 2009 fiscal year reported an economic impact of $844 million and more than 1.3 million room nights generated for rural Nevada.

Examples of grants include:

• $2,000 to the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe to help market the 2010 Pyramid Lake Triathlon to out-of-state participants and spectators.

• $3,000 to the Laughlin Tourism Commission to design and implement a website dedicated to River of Lights Boat Parade on the Colorado River.

• $5,120 to the Yerington Theatre for the Arts to help market a series of cultural events through radio and online advertising.

• $2,850 to the Great Basin Heritage Area Partnership to optimize and promote the organization’s website, which does not appear in the first 10 pages of Google search results.

• $10,000 to the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority to continue a widely successful billboard campaign in California, including billboards on Interstate-80 and Highway 50 in California that have proven to increase interest and visitation to Virginia City by California travelers.

• $5,000 to the Nevada Bed and Breakfast Guild to distribute brochures and pay for online advertising and web hosting to promote more than 20 bed and breakfasts statewide. Most of the guild members are in rural Nevada.

This round of grants was approved at the June 2 commission meeting. For more information on NCOT and the grant program, visit www.TravelNevada.biz.