Kaine Says Tourism Is Vital To Virginia’s Economy

BY DAVID McGEE
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

ABINGDON, Va. – Tourism can play an increasingly important role in the region’s economy despite concerns about the state and national economic outlook, Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine said Tuesday.
Kaine kicked off a busy day in Southwest Virginia by speaking at the second conference on building a creative economy. He spoke to a crowd of more than 100 at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon.
“These are tough times. Families and business are making do with less as the price of gas has more of an effect on our pocketbooks,” Kaine said. “There is reason for anxiety, tension and concern. But Virginia is a strong state, and we will continue to attract a lot of people and our economy is strong enough to weather the challenge.”
The economic conference included officials from The Crooked Road – Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, ’Round the Mountain, which promotes Appalachian artisans, Appalachian Sustainable Development and representatives of state and local tourism and artistic agencies.
Last year, tourism generated about $17 billion in visitor spending statewide, about $1 billion in state and local tax revenues and 250,000 jobs, Kaine said.
“To me, there are three kinds of tourism – historic, culture and natural beauty – and Southwest Virginia has all three,” he said. “A creative economy is designed to supplement and expand the traditional economy.”
Kaine, who spoke at the first such conference two years ago, praised local efforts to expand tourism by combining the region’s music, heritage and other cultural assets.
“By working together, you can be so much greater than you can be on your own,” the governor said. “And it’s working here. Five of the 15 [Virginia] counties and cities that had the greatest increases in tourism were Tazewell, Smyth, Russell, Dickenson and the city of Norton.”
While the state recorded a 7 percent average increase in tourism, those five areas reported an 11 percent increase in visitors last year, Kaine said.
Diana Blackburn, executive director of ’Round the Mountain – an Abingdon-based nonprofit organization that markets Appalachian artisans – said the region is positioned to take advantage of its assets.
“There are a lot of experiences per mile in Southwest Virginia,” Blackburn said. “We just need to promote them. Once we get people here, we have a lot to offer.”
Blackburn said her agency targets its marketing efforts at areas where people can drive here in less than a day, to spend a weekend or part of a week.
The planned Heartwood artisan center on the Virginia Highlands Community College campus is expected to attract almost 240,000 visitors annually, Blackburn said. The facility is designed to mesh the marketing efforts of all area artistic agencies.
In addition to his morning speech, the governor signed a bill regulating prescription drug sales during a stop in Wise, conducted a transportation town hall meeting at Hungry Mother State Park in Marion and spoke at the grand opening of an elder care initiative in Big Stone Gap.
Kaine has called for a special legislative session next month to try and resolve funding issues for transportation needs across the state. On Tuesday, he declined to predict what the outcome of that session might be.
“We need to find an answer. Since 1986, needs have gone unaddressed,” Kaine said. “On June 23, people will either be part of the solution or part of the problem.”

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