FEATURE PHOTO—Talking Tourism
Photo by Ken Ketchie
On Tuesday, January 14, the Avery County Chamber of Commerce, the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce and High Country Host hosted a regional tourism meeting at the Best Western Mountain Lodge in Banner Elk. Members of both chambers, High Country Host Executive Director Karin Moss, business owners, recreation directors, real estate professionals and members of the local media attended the meeting that focused on forming collaborative marketing efforts to sustain tourism in the High Country during the country’s economic downturn. Tuesday’s meeting was a follow-up to the High Country Tourism Summit that took place at Tweetsie Railroad in October 2008. During Tuesday’s meeting, Moss entertained questions about collaborative marketing efforts and fielded concerns from tourism-oriented business owners. The overall concern is that the High Country needs a new brand, and the group discussed regional attributes that could be used to formulate this new brand.















