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National Geographic does Pigeon Forge
Posted By katie allison granju
From Knoxville Voice:
Knoxville will host a Sustainable Tourism Summit April 28 and 29 (that’s today), and Commissioner Susan Whitaker of Tennessee’s Department of Tourist Development has planned and guided the process from its inception. Her enthusiasm for the project and the mission to incorporate eco-friendly practices into the tourism industry is evident as she speaks about the conference and its impact on the region.
“When the park was created 75 years ago, there was an economic aspect, but the primary focus was protecting the beauty, resources and the environment so the gateway communities can benefit from the people who come to the park and use that as an economic base,” says Whitaker. “How you build that base becomes critical because if you ruin the landscape, you’ve killed the goose that lays the golden egg. [Tourists] are looking for the distinctive culture, heritage and food of an area and for the beauty to be sustained.”
National Geographic has signed on to undertake a three-year project in the Smoky Mountains to assist gateway communities with those goals, and Whitaker’s plan is supported by Gov. Phil Bredesen, the University of Tennessee and the state Agriculture and Economic and Community Development departments, among others. Communities in Knox, Blount, Sevier and Cocke counties also showed support in a series of town hall forums that provided residents an opportunity to hear ideas and provide feedback.
Experts from National Geographic, federal agencies and communities that have already implemented the concepts that will join government officials like Mayor Bill Haslam at the summit to share implementation strategies and educate the public and industrial representatives on incentives and resources.
“I think a lot of people around the Smokies love their area and really do not want to see it lose its charm, beauty and distinctiveness,” she says. “We’d love to see the state create infrastructure that local groups can plug into, and we’d like to be a model for the nation where people say, ‘You should go to the Smokies. They love their environment and have incorporated these standards.’
Apr 28th, 2008
I was actually a great conference today (at least those parts I was able to attend) It continues tomorrow, and you can get more information at: http://www.sustainabletourismsummit.com/
Keith Bellows, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic Traveler, spoke at lunch along with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Keith delievered a sobering warning: That if we continue as we are now, we will loose all of the most wonderful destinations throughout the world that we hold so dearly. That includes our beloved Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I think it was video recorded. If so, it would be well worth watching later.