CLEVELAND, Tenn. (Oct. 28, 2008)—Tourism in Bradley County continues to show a healthy growth rate with another 2.6 percent increase in tourism expenditures, according to the latest figures released by the Travel Industry of America (TIA). This increase brings local tourism expenditures to just over $107 million for 2007.

“This is not the steady 5 percent increase we have seen in recent years,” Melissa Woody, vice president for the Chamber’s Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), said. “But as several Tennessee counties reported negative growth, I am pleased to remain on the plus side.”

The annual study, The Economic Impact of Travel on Tennessee Counties, showed the combined local and state taxes generated by tourists to total $8.72 million. This represents a savings of more than $230 per household of state and local taxes based on the latest census totals.  

“Money spent by visitors in local cash registers means benefits for our community,” Woody said. “This revenue helps pay the bills.”

The Chamber’s CVB actively markets the community to potential visitors by placing advertisements in national websites and publications, such as Southern Living and American Profile, to attract visitors to the area. The number of people requesting more information about visiting Cleveland and Bradley County has reached record highs with more than 43,500 requests this year.

Bradley County remains 13th in tourism revenue collection levels among all 95 Tennessee counties. The report showed that the 10 counties in Southeast Tennessee experienced an overall increase in revenue with a 3.1 percent growth rate over last year’s totals for the region.

“Growth in our region is good for all of our communities,” Woody added. “We like seeing most of neighbors’ revenues grow, but hated seeing some fall to negative numbers.”

Woody said it is no surprise that high gas prices have hurt drive destinations and continue to affect travel decisions.

“Sometimes national crises have an opposite effect on our area,” she explained. “After the tragedies of 9/11, our numbers stayed stable and grew as larger fly-in destinations struggled. But when you mix in high fuel costs, vacationers start taking more daytrips and keep closer check on their spending.”

The state as a whole showed a 6.2 percent increase over 2006, with domestic and international travels directly spending close to $14.2 billion in Tennessee during 2006. Tourism is the second largest industry in Tennessee providing 387,100 jobs across the state.

“The tourism industry is important to our economy,” Woody explained. “Tourism is a clean industry that can’t be moved overseas. It’s here to stay and is a consistent money maker for our state and our local communities.”

-30-