NASHVILLE, TN – Sept. 6, 2019 – Governor Bill Lee today addressed tourism professionals during the 2019 Governor’s Conference on Hospitality & Tourism at the Music City Center, noting the state’s 2nd largest industry and thanking them for their hard work. He shared his priorities over the next four years and shined a light on how tourism can help achieve successful community-focused programs.

Nashville, Tenn. – Tennessee saw 119 million domestic visitors in 2018, up 5.1 percent from 113 million the previous year and hit a record-high $22 billion in domestic and international travel spending. Travelers in Tennessee spend an estimated $60 million per day. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Mark Ezell made the announcement at the Ford Theater at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Tennessee’s growth is outpacing the nation in all areas of travel; including tax revenue, expenditures, payroll and employment.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Winning songwriters from the inaugural Tennessee Songwriters Week Open Mic Night events will perform at The Bluebird Cafe Sunday, March 31, 2019. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, in partnership with The Bluebird Cafe, held four open mic nights in Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Johnson City during the first-ever Tennessee Songwriters Week last week.

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development unveiled its official 2019 Tennessee Vacation Guide today. Designed to inspire travel, the magazine-style guide features 194 pages of Tennessee’s music, scenic beauty, creative spirit, culinary excellence and history and is distributed to nearly 500,000 visitors annually.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tourism in Tennessee continues to expand with new attractions, impressive state-of-the-art developments, expansions and milestone anniversary celebrations of iconic attractions that help shape “The Soundtrack of America. Made in Tennessee.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Bluebird Cafe, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, hits the road February 2019 for a string of open mic nights in Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville and Johnson City during Tennessee Songwriters Week. in February 2019. The events emphasize a state statute honoring songwriters passed earlier this year, and give four winners the chance to perform their original material at the historic Bluebird Cafe.

STANTON, Tenn. - The new Interstate 40 Solar Farm Information and Welcome Center is officially open in Haywood County. State and local leaders gathered today to celebrate the modern 14,000-square-foot building, which will greet visitors traveling the I-40 corridor annually. On display and at the heart of the center is an interactive exhibit designed by the University of Tennessee, SPECTRUM, which highlights the state’s advancements in renewable energy.

Nashville, Tenn. – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Kevin Triplett announced today Tennessee tourism’s direct domestic and international travel expenditures reached a new all-time record high of $20.7 billion in 2017, up 6.3 percent over the previous year, as reported by the U.S. Travel Association. The announcement was made at the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

NASHVILLE, TENN. – The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development today announced the launch of Tennessee Music Pathways, a statewide program designed to guide visitors to their musical points of interest through an online travel-planning experience featuring hundreds of landmarks and attractions promoting the seven musical genres—blues, bluegrass, country, gospel, soul, rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll—that call Tennessee home.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Today at the historic Bluebird Cafe, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development celebrated the state statute passed, annually designating the last full week of February as “Tennessee Songwriters Week.”

LONDON -- Nashville singer-songwriter Gill Landry serenaded Londoners passing through Waterloo Station Monday afternoon, stopping busy commuters in their tracks and helping kick off a month-long marketing campaign, “Sights & Sounds of Tennessee.”

Tennessee has seen the highest growth rate for international arrivals in the U.S., according to Tourism Economics, a leader in providing credible tourism analysis for hundreds of destinations. The findings were shared at IPW May 19-23 in Denver, Colorado.

Helen Turner, owner of Helen's Bar-B-Q in Brownsville, is one of the few female pit masters in the country, ranked fourth in the south by Southern Living.

After the November 2016 wildfires, the department produced "It's a Great Day to be in the Smokies," to make sure visitors knew Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gatlinburg and other communities in Sevier County were open for business.

Gatlinburg Mayor Mike Werner and Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle, both helped manage the city through the November 2016 wildfires.