Come Relax in Paradise by John Dersham

Our area is a bit different than most Alabama Counties in that a significant portion of tax revenue raised from tourism comes from actual tourists. Here is what I mean. In many cities and counties tourism dollars are raised by people who are not necessarily there on vacation. They are on business trips. Business travelers are considered tourists because the money they spend is from outside the area and is new money spent in our area from outside. In many larger areas a big part of tourism is bidding for meeting and conventions. This is especially true in the cities where large convention centers and large meeting and accommodation spaces exist. In DeKalb County we host some meetings and conferences every year and we are excited when this business comes to us. It is not, however our primary generator of tourism dollars. We are a leisure tourism area. Our visitor comes because they have planned a vacation or weekend here specifically to be a tourist. All of our top attractions revolve around a scenic leisurely vacation. These attractions are Little River Canyon, DeSoto State Park, Sequoyah Caverns, the town of Mentone, the Alabama Fan Club and Museum, statues and fan appreciation weekend. Other attractions are city of Fort Payne Boom Days historical appeal and the Depot Museum. On Sand Mountain the new Agri-Business Center in Rainsville is bringing in tourists as does Collinsville Trade days. A new growing audience for us is the younger adventure sports market. True Adventure Sports specializes in activities such as repelling, rock climbing, zip lines, canoeing, kayaking etc. All of these capture the 35 and younger crowd. We have traditionally been a baby boomers leisure market and we still are but The N.E. Agri Business Center and True Adventure sports have greatly helped grow our number of younger visitors. There a many other attractions in DeKalb County for tourists like Miracle Pottery and Orbix Glass and a host of other artisans that attract visitors our way. The fact remains that our tourism revenue stemming from the 65 million dollars spent by tourists in DeKalb County is mostly coming from vacationers. This is very good for us because vacationers return here time and time again. We are fortunate here is DeKalb County to have a very high return rate for leisure travelers. Once people come here they tend to come back. We are trying to get more to come the first time because we know once here they will most likely return. Our true southern hospitality, low costs, and easy access with low overall traffic make us perfect for weekend travelers 200 miles or less away. Many of our weekend visitors have become attracted to staying at one of our 150 rental cabins, our B&B’s or our campgrounds and hotels. We are very fortunate to live in an area that is nearly guaranteed to keep bringing in tourism dollars. Our demographics for tourists tell us they live close enough, have enough money and are the right age to keep coming for many years into the future.