With attractions like the Spearhead Trail, the Back of the Dragon, the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine and the Historic Crab Orchard Museum, it is no surprise that tourism is still growing jobs and new revenue for Tazewell County. But the latest statistics on tourism growth in the county are particularly impressive.
More than 200 new tourism-related jobs have been created in Tazewell County over the past two years, and more than 20 new tourism-related businesses have opened in the county, according to county Tourism Director David Woodard. The number of visitors to the county also has increased over the past four years.
State tourism taxes collected in Tazewell County in 2016 topped $2,237,011, which is a 3.3 percent increase over 2015. Local tourism taxes collected in the county during the same time period totaled $713,064, a 3.4 percent increase over 2015. And the estimated expenditures of tourists in 2016 totaled $50,862,821, a 1.4 percent increase over 2015.
Virginia also reported a $2.2 billion growth in tourism initiatives statewide between 2014 and 2016.
Woodard said county officials have been investing in tourism for several years now as part of the county’s economic development plan.
“The taxes collected from tourists are revenues that help relieve the tax burden of local citizens,” Woodard said. “Maintaining a relevant marketing program to attract tourists is the backbone of our tourism department. Those marketing efforts include online digital marketing, encompassing social media and search engine optimization; trade shows, where we talk with potential tourists one on one, and a very robust mail out/print media program.”
During a four month winter period, tourism officials handed out or mailed out more than 150,000 pieces of information to potential tourists considering Tazewell County as a destination for their vacations. Woodard says those efforts resulted in growth in every sector of the local tourism market. For example, last year the Back of the Dragon saw more than 50,000 motorcycles tackle the 32 mile mountainous ride. And ATV trail ridership saw a 458 percent growth in 2016.
This is great news. Tourism is a true growth area for our region. And Tazewell County is home to a number of regional tourism attractions. Given all of our outdoor activities, including the ATV and motorcycle trails, we expect to see continued growth in the regional tourism market in the months and years ahead.