News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The golf capital of Tennessee cracks the top 20 counties for Tourism in 2019.
Cumberland County raked in $130,000,000 in direct tourism spending and generated over 1,000 jobs. Crossville/Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce President Ethan Hadley said he could not put his finger on just one industry that is stimulating tourism.
“The industries that have grown, I would say are all of them, and that’s everything from accommodations to restaurants to those attractions that are drawing in the tourists,” Hadley said.
When it comes to attractions, Hadley said when people travel with golfers they visit the Military Memorial Museum, The Homesteads Tower and the Tennessee Music Pathways. For instance, in 2019 an average day of tourist spending generated over $360,000 dollars in spending.
“The more that our visitors spend here on things that they do, the less that our residents have to pay in taxes,” Hadley said.
For residents, that drop in taxes comes to over $500 when state and local county taxes are combined. The tourism industry is not just attracting short-term visitors though.
“The Juggernaut that is tourism here in the state of Tennessee and in Cumberland County and the Upper Cumberland gets the attention of entrepreneurs,” Hadley said.
A new industry Hadley said has been attracted to Cumberland County, includes breweries and brew houses.
