Committee Background

In 2011, Former-Gov. Haslam announced the formation and leadership of a statewide Tourism Committee.

The Tennessee Tourism Committee held its first meeting at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in September 2011. Since that time, the committee met every three to four months across the state. In its initial year, the committee held Open Forums for the public to weigh-in on Tennessee tourism and its direction. After several research studies and an unprecedented sharing of visitor information, the committee delivered it’s first report, titled, “A Roadmap for Jobs, Tax Revenue & Economic Growth,” in January 2013. This led to an additional $8-million to promote the state beyond its borders under the condition that the committee prepared a ten-year strategic plan for tourism.

At the 2013 Tennessee Governor’s Conference on Tourism, the committee presented the strategic plan to the industry. The plan was widely accepted by both the industry and the Governor, and since then, the committee has worked with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and its marketing agency of record, VMLY&R, to execute the plan.

Now, in 2022, the TTC continues to build off of the goals and values outlined in the original plan with the ongoing objectives to further promote the state and support its top-ranked position in the national tourism industry through generating jobs, tax revenue, and overall economic growth.