Tourism Experts Come Together To Learn

Tourism officials returning home after the annual Governor’s Conference on Hospitality and Tourism in Chattanooga.

Smithville-DeKalb County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Suzanne Williams said the conference is an important networking opportunity for tourism leaders to learn about statewide initiatives and inspire one another. Williams said the conference included 1-on-1 work on the Upper Cumberland’s new marketing campaign.

“Sometimes you get a lot of great things but then you’re like oh my goodness now that I’ve got it, especially when you’ve got a small, small staff how are you going to implement it?” Williams said. “And they’re like, ‘Here, we are going to be there, we are going to help you, we are going to show you what to do next.’ And that was super encouraging.”

Williams said one of the most exciting things she learned about was the various ways artificial intelligence can be used to aid in tourism efforts.

“They were showing of the advances in AI technology and how far it’s come in a year,” Williams said. “It was almost hard to comprehend. It felt almost a little scary at times, but at the same time very exciting to see how we can make I think some of our work easier, more impressive, be able to do so many more things.”

Williams said they also gained important information about the latest opportunities the Department of Tourist Development has for smaller communities.

“They had (an) across the state, going from community to community to community back a few months ago and met with all the different counties, especially the rural counties, and they listened to us,” Williams said. “And then when we go to these, the Governor’s Conference for instance, they make sure that they have the information there that we told them we needed to know about.”

Williams said tourism experts from the Upper Cumberland came together at the conference to discuss how they can better assist one another and unite the region’s tourism efforts. Williams said they have become a strong team and understand the importance of acting as one large organization instead of fighting for tourists.

“Sometimes people will call and they’ll be asking about things from other counties in the Upper Cumberland,” Williams said. “I try to know about the whole area and I’m glad to give information from anywhere in the Upper Cumberland.”