“Move the Needle” Governor’s conference vows to stimulate tourism

Governor Phil Bredesen delivered the keynote address at Mills Auditorium in Gatlinburg Thursday afternoon to attendees of the Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
Bredesen spoke to the crowd about the state’s commitment to stimulating tourism through initiatives designed to increase the number of tourists and tourism dollars coming into Tennessee.
“When I think back on my own experiences in business,” Bredesen said, “I find that I ran my business better during the lean times than when times were good.”
Bredesen also spoke pointedly of his experiences as mayor of Nashville and the economic boost he brought to the city as a result of building the arena there, and asked attendees to bring forward their ideas on how tourism could be stimulated in the state.
Bredesen has charged his new Commissioner of the state’s Department of Tourist Development, Susan Whittaker, with “moving the needle” on tourism in Tennessee.
Among his strategies toward accomplishing that goal is a plan to “leverage the initiatives of other state departments” in working with the tourism industry.
“For example, I think the Department of Conservation has a huge amount to do with the development of attractions and resort parks – how they’re advertised and how they’re handled,” Bredesen said at a press conference after the address. “So what we try to do is get them [different branches of the state] talking together.”
The Governor would also like to see the current guidelines on economic stimulus shifted away from manufacturing, which enjoys the lion’s share of incentives, toward tourism.
“We have an economy that’s shifting hard in the direction of a service economy yet we have a set of incentives that’s focused on hard manufacturing jobs, which are important, but not the whole issue.”
Bredesen has set his sights to open the TIPS infrastructure incentive program that the state maintains to the tourism industry. “I think that would be totally applicable,” he said, pending a change in legislation to open the program to a wider number of eligible businesses.
The Governor hopes to increase the numbers of tourists who visit the state by achieving better goals in public relations. “We need to do a better job of marketing ourselves to the outside world,” he said, when asked about current advertising efforts.
The conference is held yearly to allow leaders in the tourism industry a chance to network and grow their contacts, hear about recent innovations in tourism, and attend seminars designed to help them develop their businesses.
Gatlinburg had the honor of hosting this year’s event. April Montgomery, executive director and conference producer, said Wednesday “This year we’ve had a higher attendance than any conference previously. We’ve been planning since November of last year. Our great host committee and volunteers have worked very hard.”
Attendees were treated to a plethora of specials during the three-day conference, including a fly-fishing instructional, a special exhibit at the Ripley’s Aquarium, a host of delicious meals, and even a horseshoe-throwing pit.
“Every year we try to outdo ourselves and bring success to the event,” Montgomery said. “We’ve got James Rogers and the Eagle Challenger flying this year as a surprise for the attendees. We’re constantly raising the bar.”
Though seminars and meetings were held at the Gatlinburg Convention Center, events were scheduled all over the city as attendees had a chance to sample the variety of special attractions that Gatlinburg has to offer.