SALEM, MA. (June 21, 2006) - The Essex National Heritage Commission (ENHC) today announced that seven regional visitor centers have received funding through its visitor center grant program. The $3400 grants provide much needed funding that will allow the centers to extend or maintain their hours of operation. The visitor centers receiving funds include the George Peabody House Museum in Peabody; Maria Miles Visitor Information Center in Salisbury; Gloucester Visitor Welcoming Center; Haverhill Visitor Center at the Buttonwoods Museum; Friends of Lawrence Heritage State Park; Lynn Museum-Lynn Heritage State Park; and the Ipswich Visitor Center.

In 2005, and estimated 1.2 million tourists visited sites in the Essex National Heritage Area, with more than 860,000 of them using the ENHC Visitor Centers located around the region to gather information and direction. A recent study determined that these tourists greatly contributed to the economy of the region by spending $139.3M while visiting Essex National Heritage Area Sites.

The Visitor Centers are critical to the local tourism and our grant program enables them to increase accessibility and improve or maintain facilities, explained Annie Harris, ENHC Executive Director. Tourists spent $139.3M while visiting sites in this region last year, and that spending generated an estimated 2,724 jobs. The economic benefits of heritage tourism in this region are tremendous, and the Visitor Centers are a key component in the mix.

In addition to Visitor Centers listed above, the region has two National Park Service Visitor Centers located in Salem and Saugus that receive federal funding for operations.

For more information about the ENHC Visitor Centers, please visit www.essexheritage.org .