The advertising money the county Tourism Department is spending is paying off, according to Director Julie Morgan. In her quarterly report at the Oct. 27 County Commission meeting, Morgan said people from around the world are finding their way to Monroe County.

National Geographic Traveler Magazine published an article titled "Drives of  a Lifetime," and the Cherohala Skyway was selected as the number one drive. Number two was a 280-mile "Cheese Trail" in Vermont and number three was Cascade Lake in Oregon.
Morgan also reported the Skyway ranked number one in WBIR-Channel 10's viewer poll for the "Best Drive in the Southeast."

"We finally came in first place, and the Blue Ridge Parkway came in second place," Morgan stated in her report to the Commission. "It was great to finally come in first place."

Many travelers now use the Internet to plan their trips, and Morgan reported the number of visitors to the www.cherohala.org Web site more than doubled since last October. In the first 21 days of October 2009, 311,000 people visited the Web site. Some of the countries where people were seeking information include Canada, Russia, China, Romania, Sweden, Germany, Brazil, Ukraine, Italy, France, India and Austraila.

Morgan said records in the Cherohala Visitors Center also show people from around the world are visiting the county.

Two years ago, Morgan attended a conference with travel writers. During the conference, she had 10 minutes to speak to each writer and explain why that person should write about Monroe County. Since then, articles about the Skyway have appeared in several newspapers that she contacted during the conference.

Morgan also reported the county is finally seeing an increase in the hotel/motel tax collected. From July to September, $11,608 was collected. During the same quarter last year, $10,684 was collected.
The county has closed the visitor center on Interstate 75, but has reopened a self-serve visitor center in the Magnuson Hotel in Sweetwater. The room includes brochure racks, maps and other Monroe County information. The county has re-submitted a grant for a visitor center in Sweetwater.
editor@advocateanddemocrat.com