Great Smoky Mountains Natl. Park — The Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains the most visited national park in the country, and that continues to be good news for East Tennessee's tourism sector.
The National Park Service said the Smokies remains so popular because half the U.S. population is within a day's drive of the park.
In 2022, the park brought in nearly 13 million visitors who spent $2.1 billion in the surrounding communities such as Townsend and Pigeon Forge, which supported nearly 32,000 jobs.
"The national park in Blount County is a huge tourism draw for us, it takes up a third of the Blount, County Real Estate, so it'll never be developed into commercial property," said Jeff Muir, the communications director for Blount Partnership. "So it's been a great asset for tourism, for this area."
Townsend, which is known as "the peaceful side of the Smokies," is one of the surrounding communities. Many of its businesses are tourism-related.
"There's lodging, there's restaurants, there's also things to do with V Hollow, which is a mountain biking area. There's also stores devoted to hiking supplies and fishing supplies as well," said Muir.
Bob Letourneau owns Jake's on the River, which he opened in 2010.
"We have Ohio, Florida, a lot of people from Florida. But you know New York, Virginia, Kentucky. It's the whole United States, Iowa everywhere," said Letourneau.
He said people from all over the country visit his shop.
"Well, we're the most visited park in the United States that helps people come here to go to Cage Cove. They drive by, they see the 'Life is Good' sign, they pull in. They buy 'Life is Good' clothes, they meet me. They make a friend and they come back," said Letourneau.
On Friday, Shannon Estenoz, the Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which coincided with the 107th birthday of the National Park Service.
Estenoz spoke about the "Investing in America" agenda and the Great American Outdoors Act, which make improvements to national parks across the country, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
She highlighted the partnership of national parks and the communities around them.
"That kind of economic activity is, is driven in large part by this place, you know, by this place. And you can see the connection that those communities feel to this place just in the architecture, just in the types of businesses that you see there that are in large part, reflecting the kind of visitor experience that people have when they come in the park," said Estenoz.