The Cumberland Gap Region Tourism Association (CGRTA) is working hard to bring more tourists and their expendable dollars into the ten-county region that makes up its membership.
The nonprofit held its second quarterly meeting recently to catch up on all the board and others are doing to spread the word about the plethora of touristy things available in upper east Tennessee, southeast Kentucky and southwest Virginia.
Carl Nichols, president and CEO of the association, says the biggest objective is to create awareness of the organization. To that end, advertising has been done in a couple of prestigious travel magazines. In particular, Travel USA, with a distribution of some 250,000 copies, ran a banner ad within its pages last year that brought many who were planning vacations to the Association website via links that hooked up with all ten counties within the nonprofit.
The CGRTA is not just depending on one type of advertising, however. The association has the capacity to send 10,000 informational emails, at one time.
The members are also busy distributing all manner of advertising via restaurant place mats, static-cling decals, rack cards, brochures and tee-shirts promoting the organization and its many sponsoring businesses.
Signage, which is sorely lacking in much of the ten-county region, would be an excellent way to advertise all the tourist attractions within the area – something the nonprofit is working on, said Nichols.
The organization is also working on a novel idea to help build memberships while, at the same time, providing the necessary dollars to keep the nonprofit going. The plan involves a joint effort between the CGRTA and the Chambers of Commerce within the ten-county region.
Nichols says nearby Union County is agreeable to joining forces to offer automatic memberships to the association when a person or business becomes a member of the Union County Chamber.
The Chamber would agree to give the CGRTA a percentage of the membership fees, in exchange for the additional perks provided through the nonprofit.
“If this works there, it will work with other county Chambers,” said Nichols.
The longer a tourist stays within a county, the more tourism dollars are generated. To that end, Nichols says that opening a high-end hotel inside Harrogate – one city in Claiborne County that does not currently boast any overnight accommodations – would generate a real boost in revenues. He says the main problem – land – could be remedied with help from Lincoln Memorial University (LMU), who has enough prime property to complete the project.
According to the latest state Economic Impact Reports, Tennessee alone generates some $30 billion in tourism. Virginia and Kentucky bring in about $23 billion and $15 billion, respectively.
The ten counties that make up the Cumberland Gap Region bring in over $325 million in tourism revenues.
Sevier County, known for tourism, brought in over $2 billion during the same time frame.
If travelers passing through could be enticed to stay just one night in the Cumberland Gap Region, Nichols says it would easily add millions to the regional economy.
A portion of the CGRTA mission statement says “making history, natural beauty, art, music, adventure and the Appalachian experience come alive by making the Cumberland Gap Region a destination that tourists will drive to…not drive through.”
When you become an annual member of the nonprofit, you receive promotion of your business via thousands of colorful rack cards. Your business, contact information and map location will be included on the organization website, as well. Your company website will also be linked to the CGRTA website.
You will receive the weekly Cumberland Gap Region calendar of events email and you will be a part of a multimedia advertising blitz, designed to promote the organization website.
The organization also offers networking opportunities for business owners through training and development workshops.
As a courtesy, the CGRTA provides free memberships to all nonprofit organizations. Memberships are tax deductible.
The Cumberland Gap Region Tourism Association is made up of Claiborne, Campbell, Union, Hancock and Grainger counties in Tennessee. In Kentucky, the CGRTA includes Bell, Harlan, Knox and Whitley Counties. Lee County, Virginia, is also a part of the association.
For more information, log onto www.cumberlandgapregiontourism.org or email your questions to CGRTA@yahoo.com.
Civic Clubs and other organizations may request presentations about the importance of tourism and tourism development by email or by calling Nichols at 423-912-4202.
Reach Jan Runions at 423-254-5588 or on Twitter @scribeCP.
