Greater Gadsden Area Tourism on May 3 marked National Travel & Tourism Month and the 15th anniversary of the Etowah County Tourism Board by showing off its new headquarters and presenting its new branding, logo and tagline, “Adventure Begins Here.”

The Chamber of Gadsden & Etowah County held a ceremonial ribbon-cutting for the tourism office that opened last fall in the Downtown Civic Center at 623 Broad St. The event attracted a crowd of local business and governmental leaders.

And Tina Morrison, tourism executive director, presented numbers from the latest Alabama tourism economic impact report that confirm the importance of tourism to Etowah County.

According to that report, tourism pumped $62,248,300 into the local economy in 2023, a 3.5% increase from the previous year. Tourism-related employment — the bulk of it in small businesses — showed 2.9% growth year over year.

Traffic to the Greater Gadsden Area Tourism website, which maintains the official Etowah County events, has also increased by two-thirds, according to Morrison, from 6,000 visitors to 10,000 visitors a month. (She said revisions to the website, greatergadsden.com, and calendar are planned to make them more user-friendly.)

There also was strong participation in Gadsden's first venture into city walking tours held statewide in April.

“It's an exciting time for tourism in Etowah County,” said Morrison, a veteran of the tourism industry who became executive director here last August.

She immediately reached out to local tourism stakeholders and mayors of the various municipalities to build relationships — something she stressed is critical — and to gauge how they wanted to be included in the agency's destinations marketing

The result is the new branding and logo, including a special version this year reflecting the tourism board's anniversary, and a new mission statement and list of core values.

The mission is “to promote promote Greater Gadsden as a vibrant atmosphere that feels like home for both our locals and our visitors … to shine a spotlight on local businesses, embrace our culture and showcase the natural beauty and unique attractions that define Greater Gadsden” with a straightforward commitment to “(work) hard to promote economic development and enhance the quality of life for everyone in our community and make a lasting, positive impact” with the goal of making “Greater Gadsden … a thriving destination, reflecting the values and aspirations of the people we serve.”

The core values to be stressed are being community boosters, Southern hospitality champions, problem-solvers, showing positive attitudes and being “homegrown and proud.”

Morrison said the agency will be using ads (including one promoting Etowah County restaurants) and trade show visits to promote local tourism and event. It just received an $8,000 legislative grant that will be used to help sponsor First Friday, the Summer Concert Series and the fall restocking of rainbow trout at Noccalula Falls.

“We're excited to have (the tourism office) downtown,” said John Moore, Gadsden's director of governmental affairs and economic development. “When we decided to move it out of the ampitheater to create more space for entertainment, we couldn't think of a better place than downtown right here in this facility.

“We're excited to have these guys here and we're excited about the things that are going on,” he said. “Tina does a great job and she brings the excitement that we need here in Etowah County.”

Moore said when he speaks to groups, he always stresses what Etowah County has to offer for tourists. “There's no place in Alabama better than Etowah County,” he said. “We have a portrait landscape, we have mountains that sit in the background, we have a natural river, we have a 90-foot (waterfall) and we have one of the best downtowns in Alabama.”

Jamey Moore, the tourism board's vice chair, echoed those comments about the tourism office's new location and Etowah County's offerings, adding, “Tourism is extremely important to this community “It brings in a lot of money, and I want to commend Tina for the work she's done.”

Morrison said surveys have been conducted to determine Gadsden's target tourism audience. “Most of the time it's women who make the vacation plans,” she said, and those women “want to know what's going on, they want to know well in advance and they want safe, well-lit parking when they get there.”

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Greater Gadsden Area Tourism has new branding, logo for anniversary