The Value of Tourism
What is the value of tourism? I’ve heard this question a few times in my career, and I usually explain this to
groups I speak to, but in our community, the value of tourism is much more significant that many people think or even believe.
A tourist is defined as anyone travelling 50 miles or more for business or leisure according to the US Travel
Association. We always think of a tourist as someone who visits the mountains or beach with a family but business travel is a significant piece of the tourism pie as many came to realize during COVID. Hamblen County was blessed with significant business and industry which isn’t as susceptible to the ebbs and flows of health and economy as most of our industry is very diverse. Hamblen County also has much outdoor recreation that generates significant local taxes that helps offset what each local resident would pay yearly. This year, each resident of Hamblen County pays $305 less in taxes based on tourist spending in our community.
A great local example of tourism is our locally hosted fishing tournaments. These tournaments are low impact
on our environment yet generate around $100,000 in local taxes PER TOURNAMENT! Disc golf is also significant in a couple of ways. We have daily visitors to our community that we can’t track but our largest event, the State of Tennessee Disc Golf Open, brings over 500 visitors to Morristown staying multiple nights and generates over $250,000 in local taxes. This tracking is done by required surveys of the participants.
As the Chamber finishes up our monthly concert series Downtown at the Farmers Market, we have seen attendance increase significantly with many out of town visitors as well. Next year will also see the opening of Morristown Landing and multiple new indoor spaces for hosting events, conferences and tournaments, so I believe our tourism collections will continue to increase in our community.
For a community with one of the lowest tax burdens east of Nashville, 17 state, city or county parks is unbelievable knowing that we are the third smallest county in Tennessee! I think I’m in the group that says “have fun waiting in line 2 hours to see a deer just a short distance away, I’ll just drive through Panther Creek Park and see them.”