Sevierville, Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevier County will join together in visiting our state welcome centers during Tourism Week (May 4-12). Two teams of representatives from each city and the county will be greeting visitors who stop at the welcome centers to tell them more about the area.

In addition, the Smoky Mountains area gathered to honor the 2012 National Park Employee of the year, Heather Wood, at Park Headquarters on May 6.

National Tourism Week is a time to emphasize the importance of tourism to our national, state and local economies. In Sevier County alone, the annual impact from tourism is more than $1.5 billion. For more information about the economic impact of tourism in Tennessee, visit http://tnvacation.com/industry/toolkits-research/.