1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Explore America Act of 2018 . 2. Purposes The purposes of this Act are— (1) to strengthen economic development across the United States by supporting cultural heritage tourism and historic preservation activities through the Preserve America Program; and (2) to encourage the Director of the National Park Service to partner with gateway communities (including Native American communities and National Heritage Areas) to leverage local cultural and historic heritage tourism assets. 3. Preserve america grant program (a) Establishment Section 311102 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (d)— (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting and the Secretary of Commerce after Council ; and (B) by adding at the end the following: (3) Advisory role of Secretary of Commerce The Secretary of Commerce shall advise the program with respect to job creation, economic growth, and tourism policy and promotion. ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (f) Technical assistance (1) In general For any fiscal year for which funds are not made available to provide grants under this section, to the extent practicable, the program shall, in lieu of the grants, provide technical assistance to the eligible entities described in subsection (a) for projects that meet the eligibility requirements described in subsection (b), as identified on the list of projects prepared by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (d). (2) Limitation The Secretary may take into account the availability of staff resources at the Department of the Interior, the Council, and the Department of Commerce for purposes of determining the number of projects that are provided technical assistance under this subsection. (3) Form The form of technical assistance under paragraph (1) may include technical assistance provided by— (A) the Director, with respect to— (i) best practices in visitor services; (ii) the conduct of research, inventories, and surveys; (iii) the documentation of historic resources