Tourism advertising is money well spent
Should Historic Falcon Manor and Cumberland Caverns be included in billboard advertising paid for by the taxpayers through the Chamber of Commerce?
Absolutely.
It’s difficult to see why people are having a problem with this. Falcon Manor and Cumberland Caverns are two of the main reasons tourists come and spend their money here. It makes sense to market what we’ve got.
The goal of the Chamber of Commerce, by definition, is to promote the economic well-being of a community through business. There are a few better ways to accomplish this than to draw people to this area by highlighting two of our primary attractions.
Some folks, however, are finding this difficult to swallow. They feel since Falcon Manor and Cumberland Caverns are privately owned, they shouldn’t be included on a taxpayer-funded billboard promoting Warren County because that constitutes free advertising.
That logic is short-sighted and not in the best interest of the county.
Stimulating tourism not only benefits the individual attraction, but the entire community. When families visit Cumberland Caverns, it’s a good bet they’ll fill up their SUV with gas during the trip. They’ll likely eat in a restaurant or two around town, maybe even stay in a hotel. They might decide to stroll down Main Street for some antique shopping.
That’s money being spent in our community. It helps individual businesses and the sales tax revenue ultimately benefits all of us. Tourism may not bring 900 jobs to the area, but it brings money nonetheless.
One of the great aspects of tourism is that it’s a clean revenue stream. When people come to town to spend money at Falcon Manor, they leave after a couple of days and we don’t have to worry about educating their children. Attracting tourism doesn’t mean building new roads. The stress on our infrastructure is minimal.
Warren County is proud to tout itself as the Nursery Capital of the World. Last time we checked, those nurseries are privately owned.
Sevierville certainly doesn’t shy away from promoting Dollywood, a privately owned business. Nashville is proud to proclaim itself home of the Grand Ole Opry and the Tennessee Titans, both privately owned businesses.
That’s exactly what the Chamber of Commerce is doing here. Cumberland Caverns is the largest cave in Tennessee, accommodating between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors a year. It needs to be heavily promoted both by its owner and by our Chamber.
And it has been. The owners of Cumberland Caverns and Falcon Manor have paid for two billboards on Interstate 24 with their own money. The two attractions are featured far less prominently on two other billboards paid for by the city and county through the Chamber. A third Chamber billboard doesn’t feature either attraction.
For the three billboards, Chamber officials have signed a contract to pay $9,000 for one year. Of that $9,000, approximately two-thirds is coming from the county with another one-third coming from the city of McMinnville. That’s a reasonable investment when considering the upside potential of billboard advertising.
It’s also important to emphasize the 22 members of the Chamber’s Tourism Committee were virtually unified in the decision to promote Cumberland Caverns and Falcon Manor through billboard advertising. The move also received substantial support from the Warren County Commission.
Privately owned or not, Falcon Manor and Cumberland Caverns are two of Warren County’s main attractions. We don’t need to hide these gems. Our Chamber of Commerce is doing its duty by promoting them.