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Fall colors begin brightening East Tennessee, attracting tourists

As the colors of the leaves begin to change in East Tennessee, a financial benefit comes to the area's tourism industry.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Fall is in the air, and trees across East Tennessee are soon going to be covered in red, yellow and orange leaves

"Our fall is when Tennessee truly shines like no other state in America, and people come from all over the nation to see that first-hand," said Mark Ezell, the Tennessee Department of Tourism Commissioner. 

When nature paints the Great Smoky Mountains in fall colors, Tennessee's Department of Tourism says that it's the busiest time of the year for visitors traveling to the state. They said financial success for the state is a direct result of the increased tourism.

"We're the fastest-growing state for visitor spending in the entire country, over the past five years," said Ezell.

As for the science behind the changing leaves, people in East Tennessee can begin to see the changes starting in the next few weeks, among higher elevations of the mountains. The first day of fall will be on Sept. 23.

"It'll begin to happen in the first couple weeks of October, in higher elevations because it's cooler," said Wayne Clatterbuck, a forestry professor at the University of Tennessee. 

Clatterbuck says the peak time for the foliage is expected to happen during November.

"You get those displays of miraculous colors together. It's a way of God displaying here in East Tennessee, and it's beautiful to see," he said.

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