Best talks tourism trends, notes economic impact

“That’s a huge accomplishment,” Best said. As a result of that trend and the number of people showing up, Best said tourism is now a top three economic driver for the county.

“We’re proud to be a part of that,” she said. “I hope we see the trends continue. It’s exciting we’ve become such a destination.”

While peak tourism season is nearing, it isn’t here yet. However, Best said she’s already seeing an increase in travelers to this point this year.

Another important point about the tourism trends, according to Best, is that people who visit the county are now staying an average of 4.75 days, which means they’re not just coming on a Friday and leaving on a Sunday.

“We’ve gone from being a weekend destination to being a vacation destination for most people,” she said.

The longer people stay in town, the more money they spend and the more revenue local businesses make.

Best said October, November, June and July are the top periods for tourism locally, but that the county is “having success year round.”

The top destinations for travelers, she noted, are a tie between the Lost Sea and the Cherohala Skyway, which includes interest in the Cherokee National Forest. Second most visited in the county are Tellico Lake and Fort Loudoun. The top five states people visit here from are Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Ohio and Kentucky.

Best said having this information to be able to track is important as the county continues to market itself.

“We want to make sure we’re making data-driven decisions for our markets,” she said. “This lets us know areas where we have room to grow. We can now advertise in states that we don’t see a lot of traffic.” Best added that they have economic impact numbers in for 2021 and tourism brought $60 million into the county — that includes people spending on fuel, groceries for an extended stay, nightly dinner and fees at various places. Of that, about $2 million were paid in local taxes.

“Tourism keeps taxes lower for our local residents,” she said. “Plus we don’t have to worry about housing and education costs for visitors.”

This upward trend in tourism has been ongoing since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country and people started seeking outdoors locations with a limited number of people around them. “We were seeing an uptick before COVID, but COVID definitely helped us,” Best said of its impact on tourism. “We also received a large amount of money for marketing during that time. A lot of people heard of us who hadn’t because of our robust marketing and we’re still seeing that.”

With access to tourism data, Best said she’s working with each of the towns in the county to help them market themselves as well.

“All four cities work very hard and are very on board with tourism,” she said. “They enjoy having access to the data.” City festivals drew 129,902 local residents and outside visitors last year, according to Best. About half of that number were local people, she said.

Moving forward, Best said the county visitor’s center is open seven days a week and they’re “full speed ahead” in planning for spring tourism.

Best noted that she has also compiled all events in the local area and it’s located at visitmonroetn.com/funevents