Roger Brooks - Destination Development Inc. - Assesses Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, & Sevierville

Photo by Brian Davis

Article Source: The Mountain Press - click here. While the tourism gravy train shows no sign of derailing, local officials who depend on visitor dollars would be smart not to assume it will keep on rolling indefinitely with things just as they are now. Change is not only inevitable, but necessary. There are challenges facing Sevier County if it hopes to remain a prime destination. Meeting those challenges will require planning, creativity, compromise and patience.

Roger Brooks knows what he's talking about when he discusses tourism and travel. He laid it out last December during a presentation to local officials. He's back to report on what he has found during his study of the area.

Brooks detailed his findings during a seminar last Thursday at the Sevierville Civic Center. What he had to say is critical to the thinking of those involved in the three local communites.

Brooks, whose Destination Development Inc. based in the state of Washington is one of the best at what it does, has spent several days in Sevier County assessing our situation.

He has evaluated what we do well and what we don't do so well. He does not pull punches or soften his message. Several local business people paid him a lot of money to do what he has done, and they expect candor when he speaks on Thursday.

No matter your interest or involvement in tourism - promotion, assistance, information, service, lodging, transportation - you need to hear what Brooks thinks. People need to hear an outside, independent voice once in a while, according to R.B. Summitt, the president of Sevier County Bank who helped pay the fee to get Brooks back.

See summaries of the three reports:

• Gatlinburg
• Pigeon Forge
• Sieverville

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