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How COVID Will Change Tourism In Pigeon Forge

At one point in time, 2020 seemed as though it was going to be a stellar year. Then March arrives and it has been going downhill since. During this time, much of the business world has come to a screeching halt.

Pigeon Forge was just one location that was hitting its stride to the best year ever before COVID-19 hit us.

Most years, the city will earn upwards of 1.5 billion dollars in revenue. Over the past six years that has been the general amount, the city has come to expect. However, all of that changed once the pandemic hit the nation.

Starting around March 15th, the area began to slow down, and then the stay at home order was issued and the town basically closed down until further notice. With the town in lockdown mode, a number of businesses were hurt financially.

A number of area restaurants including Smoky’s Pancake Cabin, Smoky Mountain Pancake House, Quaker Steak and Lube, Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin, Golden Corral, T.G.I. Fridays and Corkey’s BBQ were all hurt.

Many businesses in the area shut down for 3 weeks but lost much business over the course of two months.

One must understand that a number of business that were affected in the area are mom and pop shops. This is their livelihood and income, and in a matter of weeks, it was gone. when shops that rely on visitors can not come to the area or there is a shutdown in progress that keeps people from other states away it is going to hurt everyone in the area.

Pigeon Forge is an area that relies on tourism, we excel at hospitality and people love coming to an area where they feel safe and comfortable. With the threat of COVID lurking around every corner, it is impossible to make anyone feel safe and comfortable.

Typically during the spring season, there are families all over the town having fun and making memories. This year, the area was a ghost town with many locals not too sure about their next move. It was a rather daunting experience for many residents and shopkeepers.

Area revenue was down by almost 80% compared to the year before. Thankfully, this number has been decreasing with each passing month allowing for more income to trickle in.

The first couple of weeks was slow to start for many businesses, but this was good as it allowed them to get their feet on the ground and put proper preparations in place.

Many new guidelines and precautions that were mandated by the state and county were implemented. This was a little more difficult at some area restaurants due to space limitations and layout.

Golden Corral is one area restaurant that is still struggling with changes.

The restaurant has not been able to get back to its once normal operation, however, they are working hard to make sure everyone is safe. For instance, customers must use gloves before they use a set of tongs to grab food from the buffet. They must be changed every time they come back up with a new place.

Many of the area businesses saw an upward trend during the summer.

As people began to see posts on social media and came to visit they felt self in the area. They saw the changes that had been implemented or heard things from family and friends and new we were back open. Changes such as street closures, mandatory masks, or even 505 operational capacity made everyone feel safe again.

With these changes, revenue was down by only 35% compared to the previous year. During the month of June, it was down by 12% and in July by 9%.`

This is mostly due to the fact that Pigeon Forge is a driving destination. For two-thirds of the population living east of the Mississippi, it is a day’s drive by the interstate with a number of exciting outdoor activities.

One must consider the fact that just about everything in the Pigeon Forge area including the shopping is located outside.

People love the open environment and feel safe. They like being outside and having the ability to move around and have a sense of normalcy.

While revenue began to increase over the summer months a number of events still had to be cancelled due to safety precautions. Many of these events such as the Spring Rod Run are responsible for bringing in a number of tourists. Even for the events that continued, they were much smaller and brought a lot less business to the area.

For example, the area holds a huge Halloween event at The Island, but this year it is not going to be advertised as much in hopes of keeping it smaller.

Other events that tend to attract large events such as the annual tree lighting with Paula Deen have already been cancelled. Halloween will continue but just in smaller fashion. There will be trick or treating throughout the area for a limited number of hours.

Sadly, so many area events have had to be cancelled for the year or cut to a smaller size. Such in case is the National Quartet Convention. What is a typically large event for the city was cut in size o keep it safer.

Typically, that event will bring in as many as 10,000 visitors to the city. At the time of this writing, events such as New Year’s Eve is still up in the air. This is usually a big celebration and big revenue earner, but it may be too big for COVID standards. There are a number of events that will still go on throughout the Fall and Winter to keep visitors and residents entertained.

If things stay about the same, the city should be able to have some good events. The Smoky Mountain Winter Fest is a huge crowd draw during the fall and winter. Three cities will place up to 15 million lights up. Dollywood features an astounding 6 million lights that can be toured and enjoyed from your car allowing for a safe and fun holiday experience.

As revenue continues to grow to what it was last year the city is optimistic for the upcoming season.

Everyone in the area is looking to return to a normal lifestyle. Considering how things are going, the city is about to where it needs to be.

Life will continue to change and people will adapt and move one and learn to live with COVID. Life in our area will see a surge in popularity and revenue as the season’s continue. People come to this area to get away from the problems of the world and make good memories that will last a lifetime.

Original article: Go Here