Business View Magazine - July 2024

Looking ahead, the Gatlinburg Convention Center remains ready to continue its growth trajectory, leveraging strategic enhancements and innovative marketing to attract even more diverse and high- profile events. PREFERRED VENDOR/PARTNER n Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau www.gatlinburg.com/meetings Nestled in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the quaint town of Gatlinburg provides everything a meeting planner needs to design a successful event: a state-of the-art convention center, 16,000-plus sleeping rooms, hundreds of shops, restaurants, and attractions offering enough options to suit every interest. equipment, including a 24-foot-wide LED wall on the Mills Auditorium stage, to offer more comprehensive production services to clients. Esslinger highlights a strategic shift in marketing efforts. “We’ve done a great job bringing Tennessee state-based associations to the convention center, but now we’re really starting to target nationwide association conventions,” he says. This effort hopes to attract more national events to Gatlinburg, a city traditionally known as a drive-in destination. The center has initiated the “Update Gatlinburg” luncheons to support this goal. “We visit different cities, invite local meeting planners to a unique venue, provide lunch, and then present all the things Gatlinburg has to offer,” Esslinger explains. These luncheons, held in places like Nashville,Washington, D.C., and Columbus,Ohio, include presentations about the convention center, hotels, attractions, restaurants, and activities available in Gatlinburg. These events have proven highly successful, resulting in direct bookings and increased interest in Gatlinburg as a destination. 156 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 11, ISSUE 07