How Williamson County plans to up its tourism by 50% by 2020

October 11, 2016

Nashville Business Journal
by Jacob Steimer

As Davidson County and the state as a whole continue to display strong tourism growth, Williamson County is hoping a new strategy will help it bolster its recent sluggish gains.

While Davidson County’s tourism industry and Tennessee’s total tourism industry each grew by about 5 percent in 2015 in terms of spending, Williamson County’s grew by about 1 percent. In order to turn things around, Williamson County Convention & Visitors Bureau CEO Ellie Westman Chin is unveiling a new strategic plan this week that she hopes will grow the county’s number of visitors by 50 percent by 2020.

“We based our goal [of 2 million visitors] on history. … Then we stretched it a little bit,” Westman Chin said. “We want to be aggressive.

At a meeting with reporters on Monday, Westman Chin listed four main strategies to get to her aggressive goal:

Increase the effectiveness of the bureau’s branding.
Form more partnerships with other visitor bureaus and regional committees.
Promote Williamson County as a top destination for youth and amateur sporting events.
Educate the local community on the impact of tourism.

Of the four strategies, Westman Chin spent the most time talking about boosting the county’s attractiveness for sporting events, which she said can be a major boost for the area, whose hospitality industry has traditionally performed well with business travelers.

“Mondays through Thursdays, we’re strong. Where we can be stronger is on the weekend; that’s where sports can come in,” Westman Chin said.

Westman Chin did say, though, that the area’s sports facilities are not yet where they need to be, which is why the Williamson County CVB recently spent about $58,000 to hire Chicago-based real estate consulting firm Hunden Strategic Partners to conduct a sports feasibility study.

“[Sporting events planners] all know Franklin. They all want to be in Franklin. We just need facilities where they can play,” she said.

Westman Chin said she hopes the renewed emphasis boosts hotel bookings for sporting events by 40 percent by 2020. She hopes this boost will help keep local occupancy rates high, as new Nashville hotels slow down the spillover effect Williamson County hotels enjoy.

“As more hotel rooms open, how are we going to stand on our own two feet?” she said.

Part of the county’s hotel industry standing on its own two feet will be a rebranding effort on the part of area hotels.

“A lot of our hotels call themselves ‘Nashville South’ or ‘Cool Springs.’ We need to continue to build the Franklin brand as a standalone brand,” Westman Chin said.

Westman Chin said selling Franklin is the best way to sell the county, as the town’s Main Street is the county’s top tourist attraction.

“It’s very difficult to promote a county as a whole. There’s a Williamson County in pretty much any state,” Westman Chin said.

How Williamson County plans to up its tourism by 50% by 2020

BECOME A CHAMBER MEMBER TODAY

RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP TODAY