TDA Advisory committee working on strategic plan

Rutherford County Tourism Development Authority (RCTDA) held its inaugural Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting recently. The group of 39 leaders from across Rutherford County was assembled by RCTDA Executive Director Don Cason and included representatives from the county-level and municipalities to those from education, public service, key businesses and industries, regional tourism influencers, stakeholders and media.

The goal of the initial meeting was to establish group rapport, demonstrate how tourism is a leading economic driver for Rutherford County, and finalize a Request For Proposal (RFP) to seek a firm to develop the countywide Tourism Strategic Plan.

The meeting began with an update from Tryon International Equestrian Center (TIEC) Chief Operations Officer Sharon Decker. In addition to ongoing plans for development, Decker stated that TIEC remains an economic engine for both Rutherford and Polk Counties and is a contender for hosting the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. In terms of attracting visitors to the area, Decker encouraged attendees to "not lose sight of what brought the equestrian center here in the first place."

"As you define the brand, you have to tell the story of our area's great quality of life," said Decker.

Next, the group listened to a presentation from Visit North Carolina Marketing Director Mark Shore. Visit North Carolina is the tourism marketing department for the State of North Carolina and part of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC).

Shore presented tourism industry statistics for North Carolina stating that "tourism is an investment." He reported that the tourism industry ranked fourth in the state for economic impact. Rutherford County ranked twenty-eighth in visitor spending out of the 100 counties in North Carolina. Shore emphasized that tourism is a great way for economically challenged counties, like Rutherford, to generate revenue.

Shore also highlighted that the region "is now on a global stage" because of TIEC's bid for the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games. TIEC is competing with Slovakia for the bid.

The final presentation was given by Western Carolina University Director of Hospitality and Tourism Program Steve Morse, an economist who specializes in tracking business trends in the hotel, restaurant and tourism sectors of the Southeast and U.S. economies. Morse shared compelling economic data on Rutherford County's growing tourism industry including the fact that visitors spent $164.1 million in the county in 2015, thus saving each taxpayer $446 that year, which is a $242 increase from 2014. He also reported that the percentage of people working in Rutherford County's tourism industry grew from 7.3 percent in 2001 to 12.4 percent in 2015.

Morse stressed the need to place proper value on the tourism industry's contribution to economic impact and to not depreciate the variety of jobs created.

"If you say everyone in the tourism industry is doing a minimum wage job, it's like saying everyone working in a hospital is an orderly," said Morse.

Morse also urged attendees to realize the indirect jobs resulting from tourism. According to Morse, for every two direct jobs created in the tourism industry, there is one indirect job created. In 2015, Rutherford County's tourism industry created 1,220 direct tourism jobs and 610 indirect jobs for a total of 1,830.

Morse reinforced his report by stating that "Rutherford County tourism jobs will never be outsourced to another country."

Cason concluded the meeting and expressed his readiness to move into the next phase of the TAC plan.

"Our next step is to submit the RFP and choose a company to spearhead the development of this important plan for Rutherford County Tourism," said Cason. "I am eager to work with this impressive team of leaders and deliver a plan that can help our county capitalize on and maximize the next 15 years of our growing tourism industry.

"The ultimate goal is to have a final Rutherford County Tourism Strategic Plan endorsed by the county, every town and stakeholders from across the county by the end of the fiscal year or early fall at the latest."