Claiborne Tourism Holds ‘Road Mapping’ Session with State Officials
Published on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 2:28 p.m.
(Photo courtesy of Jay Compton)
Several Tennessee Tourism Development Department (TDTD) officials, including Director Mark Ezell, recently visited Cumberland Gap and held a “road mapping” session to help plan for the future of Claiborne County’s tourism community.
Claiborne County Chamber of Commerce Director Karin Clark invited members of the tourism commission, mayors of all cities and towns in the county, and as many other tourism partners as possible to Nineteen19 for a conference.
“We invited people from all walks of life in the tourism industry. We were told we could have up to 30 people, and we ended up with 32, which was great,” Clark said. . “We were very excited to be one of the few counties that Commissioner Mark Ezell flew in for the meeting. We were so honored to have him. ”
This was TDTD’s 39th Tourism Roadmap working session in rural districts of the state. Ezell was joined by Melanie Beaukamp, Jenny Veal, Cyrus Goddard and Jodie Sliger. A big takeaway from the meeting was that the Claiborne County Tourism Office is already doing much of what the state is proposing to other rural counties. A county tourism committee has been established to represent all tourism sectors in the county, and hotel/motel and other tourism tax revenues are primarily donated to the committee and used to promote and improve tourism activities. and a county plan has already been created. A wide range of brands and signage.
“Commissioner Ezell called us rock stars,” Clark said. “They had very few suggestions that we haven’t already done or aren’t working on. We’re going to take their suggestions to heart, but they’re not going to take any action on what’s going on in Claiborne County. We’re very happy and feel like we’re way ahead of most rural counties. They’re excited about us.”
Clark also said he recently received a Google Optimization grant, which he said the state was thrilled about. She has obtained several grants for the county, but a road mapping session with TDTD will help the county qualify for other grants.
During the meeting, Mr. Ezell explained the benefits of tourism to the local economy.
“Tourism brings in taxes without much extra expense to local taxpayers,” he said. “Tourists come, they spend money, and they leave,” Ezell said, citing the example of a county that needs an ambulance and uses tourism revenue to pay for it. “If we keep that money (in tourism), we can triple it in three years and we’ll have enough income to buy three ambulances,” he said.
Mr. Ezell shared a graph showing how much increased tourism revenue has saved local taxpayers over the past five years, and that number continues to increase each year.
Over the past five years, local taxpayers have been able to save more and more as tourism revenues have continued to rise.
“We’re increasing tourism because it’s a beautiful place here in Claiborne County,” Clark said. “(And) we have had extensive out-of-state advertising in magazines such as USA Today’s Travel Edition, Southern Living’s Travel Edition, Blue Ridge Country, and many others.”
Tourism Claiborne’s next big plan is to complete the restoration of the Graham Kibbett House, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
“We are currently in the process of restoring it to its full beauty. We want this to be the cultural heritage center and welcoming center of Claiborne County,” Clark said. Ta. “The governor has given us some funding to do that, and we would like to get more funding so we can fully implement and complete it.”
Plans call for it to house a museum featuring Claiborne County artifacts and serve as a welcome center larger than the current Chamber of Commerce offices.
“From swimming along the river to paddling the Powell River, we’re promoting the fact that you can come here and do that, and we’re encouraging people to come to the Speedway or Cumberland Gap and ride bikes or have a six-bedroom houseboat on the lake. We want to promote the fact that you can either rent a car or go camping,” Clark added. “That’s our biggest challenge. We have to finish this house. It will be of great benefit to Claiborne County.”
Visit Claiborne County operates under the Claiborne Economy Partnership. Clark is the director, Angie Estes is the assistant director, Robin Duncan is the office coordinator, and Josh Bundren is in charge of social media. Ronald Lambert is the chairman of the tourism committee.
