Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority hosts "Coffee Talks" at POPS in Forest City

The Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority hosted "Coffee Talks" Monday morning at POPS in Forest City. TDA executive director Don Cason spoke to local officials and business owners about some TDA initiatives. Those include agritourism which opens farms in the county to visitors and relocate to Rutherford which will help workers coming to the county to find housing and assist visitors who want to relocate here. Kersten Conklin of The Agency Marketing Group spoke about the traditional media marketing, digital media and social media marketing used to attract visitors to Rutherford County.

While the Chimney Rock and Lake Lure areas attract many to seek information about the county, the marketing efforts also inform them of points of interest in the rest of the county. Traditional media includes TV ads in Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta and Nashville. Tampa and Orlando, Florida have recently been added to the mix. Cason updated the group on Rutherford Bound, the county-wide asset development plan. Several projects have been completed including Chimney Rock Village Phase 1, Spindale Streetscape Phase 1 and Rutherfordton's Kiwanis Park. There are 10 more projects that Rutherford Bound hopes to complete over the next 10 years. These projects not only attract visitors to the area but also improve the quality of life for current residents of the county.

The TDA is currently exploring ways to encourage county residents to make tax-deductible contributions to Rutherford Bound. The TDA is funded by occupancy taxes collected from visitors staying in local lodging. That tax amount has doubled from 2019 to today.

The Rutherford County Tourism website is www.VisitNCSmallTowns.com. The tourism master plan is available at www.rutherfordbound.com and you can link to the TDA through www.rutherfordcountync.gov/tourismdevelopmentauthority.