Time to save Gloria Ray
The local advertorial daily paper, the KNS, begins the campaign to save Gloria Ray of the Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation. The Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation (KTSC), a private 501 © 3 corporation contracts with the City of Knoxville and Knox County to market Knoxville as a premier destination for conventions, sporting events and leisure travel for an increased economic impact on the region.
Of course the publisher of the local advertorial daily paper is on the board of the Knoxville Tourism & Sports Corporation.
Since the train wreck that was BoomsDay rumors have swirled that Ray’s job was in jeopardy. Of course the 11 million dollar per year operating costs of the Knoxville Convention Center and the pitiful numbers generated from the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame are no help either.
While Ray is not mentioned in the article the message is clear that, "From sights and scenes in the major cities, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Cherokee National Forest, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area and numerous state parks, Tennessee is a welcoming place for visitors within the nation and the world". Blah, blah, and blah.
But according to the Sentinel everything is just ducky, "Locally, Knox County received $685 million from travelers last year, which was a 7.5 percent increase over 2004."
However a realization has been recognised, "Acknowledging the importance of marketing, Tennessee Tourism Commissioner Susan Whitaker said: "We can no longer expect that, just because you build it, people will come."
Now Knox County Commission and City Council will be hit up for more taxpayer money for "marketing" because it is so clear that the problem is that not enough money has been spent on marketing to tell the people of Ohio how wonderful Knoxville is for tourists. There is no way possible we just built stupid venues in bad locations that no one cares about.
Give me a break.
