Tourism up in Laurel County
Oct. 18—Tourism is rising in Laurel County, according to figures released by the London-Laurel County Tourism Commission.
Kelly Burton, co-executive director, showed documentation of this year's hotel bookings which showed that hotel/motel room occupancy for this year's World Chicken Festival was at 77%. The occupancy for September 2023 was 69%, up from 59% last year.
Kentucky's tourism is at an all time high, Burton explained — numbers which are supported by data collected through a special tourism-oriented program known as "Arrivalist." That program listed Kentucky as the top origin market with over 4,400 trips to the state with visitors staying an average of 0.31 nights. Lexington is the top city in the state for tourism, followed closely by Louisville.
Data shows that June and July were the highest months for tourism other than September.
Burton presented data before the county tourism board on Tuesday, stating that tourism is expected to grow in the coming years.
Burton also outlined some events that may come to the area in the next years. The U.S. Lawn Mower Racing officials are "looking at London" to host a 2024 event, she said, while a soccer tournament for June 2024 is already planned at the Laurel-London Optimist Club. The September and October dinner theatre events by Tri-County Mystery Meets also brought out a large crowd, with plans for future productions in the Heritage Hills facility.
"I've talked with War Zone Paintball at Exit 49 about possibly hosting an event here," Burton added.
Chris Robinson, executive director of the London Tourism Commission, announced that Movie Night's first showing had a large crowd, with even more planned for this week. (See related story.)
"Camp Spook is underway and Lights Over London is set for 2 showings on Dec. 15," he added.
Todd Roberts, commissioner with the City Tourism, said he hoped to have a joint meeting between the city and county tourism officials in the near future in order to discuss joint ventures and further promotion of tourism events in the area.
During a brief executive session, county tourism board members discussed the sale of property, although the location of that property was not identified. Board members then voted to proceed with the sale of that property.
Repairs on the tourist information center have been completed and co-executive director Kim Collier said the renovation on the outside of the building had made a great improvement in its appearance. She added that the columns needed sandblasted and painted, although no action was voted on by board members.
The World Chicken Festival was a great success this year, Burton and Collier said, bringing in thousands for the games, food, crafts and entertainment that marks the celebration of Colonel Harland Sanders' first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in southern Laurel County.
The London-Laurel County Tourist Commission meets the third Tuesday of each month in the Heritage Hills theater in the Genealogy Center.
