A new visitor center and retail space is now open just outside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Townsend, Tennessee, offering information, education materials, souvenirs, parking tags and other park-related goods to Smokies visitors. 

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will celebrate the grand opening of its new visitor center with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15. What remains to be seen, however, is whether visitors to Haywood County will follow them.

Do visitor centers still have a role in the new world of travel intel? That’s the question Haywood County tourism leaders have been pondering for the past year. And it’s not been an easy one to answer.

The Haywood County Tourism Authority is exploring whether to close its two visitor centers in Waynesville and Maggie Valley, questioning whether money to run the sites could be better spent luring tourists in the first place rather than itinerary planning once they arrive.

The Smoky Mountain News recently got a sneak peek of the new Swain County Heritage Museum and Visitor’s Center. Leading the tour was David Monteith, who’s been a driving force and visionary behind the museum since its inception.

The new Swain County Heritage Museum slated to open in downtown Bryson City this weekend not only honors Swain County’s history, but the sizeable visitor center housed inside also pays homage to Swain’s future.

After a tumultuous start to hashing out a blueprint for this year’s finances, the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority reached a moment of harmony last week when its members unanimously adopted a budget.

Gorges State Park born just more than 10 years ago is now finally on its way to becoming one of the premiere parks in the North Carolina system.

The most recent addition — a 7,100-square-foot, eco-built visitor center opening this week — stands as a testament to the potential for the only state park west of Asheville.

From Staff Reports

Patrick Willis is a history buff of the first order, so when he landed a part-time job staffing the front desk at the Canton Area Historical Museum while working on his masters in history from Western Carolina University, it was a perfect fit.

Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce will be forced to close its visitor center after its major source of funding has suddenly dried up.

For at least two decades, the Maggie Chamber has relied on a cut of tourism tax dollars from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority to fund its visitor center operations.