Tourism Official: Overton, Clay, Pickett Should Market Themselves As One

A State Official told the Livingston Board of Aldermen the northern communities of the region should come together and market themselves as one.

State Tourism Chief Customer Officer Dennis Tumlin said tourism accounted for $27.5 billion statewide last year, an increase of some 14 percent. Tumlin said a good example for the Upper Cumberland might be a trip to the Smokies where visitors could be in Blount, Sevier, or Cocke County.

“A visitor does not care about county lines,” Tumlin said. “And so I almost believe that Dale Hollow Lake is such a legendary, iconic lake that if we could ever have a conversation with Clay County and Overton County and Pickett County and talk about creating an image and a brand.”

Tumlin said Overton County brings restaurants to the table and lodging. The other two counties have marinas on the lake. By working as one brand, Tumlin said the counties could all benefit.

“Every household in Overton County pays less in county and city property taxes because of the impact of visitation and it affects local budgets and it affects state budgets,” Tumlin said. “Because of the direct impact to the state budget on direct visitor spending, every household pays $755 less per household to receive the same amount of services.”

Direct tourism spending in Overton County grew 24.7 percent between 2019 and 2021. Tumlin said COVID changed the game, as people put more emphasis on small towns and natural beauty.

“That’s great,” Tumlin said. “If my 401K was growing at 24.7 percent, I would be happy and consider it successful.”

The State Department Of Tourism will conduct a seminar August 15th from 10am to 2pm to meet with industry partners in the tourism business. He said the meeting will be a chance to create a roadmap for how to grow the industry in Overton and surrounding counties.