With the summer travel season under way, Cleveland, Tenn., and Dalton, Ga., stopping points on Interstate 75 are emphasizing Southern hospitality at motels, restaurants and tourist attractions.
"The first impression is the one that counts," said Cherie Brock, a desk clerk at Dalton's LaQuinta Inn just off I-75. "If you are courteous, they know they are going to have a good experience."
That's what she tells new clerks such as Heather Stanley.
"You meet people from everywhere," Ms. Stanley said. "People travel by (lodging) chains. So even if they are new to us, they could become regulars."
Dalton and Cleveland recently held events to stress the importance of tourism in local economies. A visitor's first impression -- whether he receives a friendly welcome or an indifferent shrug -- can determine whether he'll stay around to visit area attractions, sleep and eat.
The Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Chamber of Commerce held a hospitality fair for front-line employees in industries where travelers are likely to gain those first impressions.
"These folks are very important to us," Melissa Woody, vice president for the Convention and Visitors Bureau, said about hotel, restaurant, tourism and retail workers.
The hospitality fair showed off local attractions, from the Museum Center at Five Points to the Ducktown Basin Museum and more, and gave tips on how to make visitors feel welcome.
Dalton officials held a news conference last week highlighting hospitality.
Cleveland and Dalton both have a local hotel-motel tax that supports tourism advertising. In Cleveland it also supports the Tri-State Exhibition Center, which hosts events that draw more tourists.
The Chamber is planning to create an instructional DVD that can be shown to new employees at local travelers' stops. Because of high turnover among those employees, it's important to keep the hospitality message going, Mrs. Woody said.
That's even more true these days, when state and local governments are facing weak sales tax collections, she acknowledged. A gloomy economy can have a silver lining for local and regional tourism, Mrs. Woody said.
"It can mean more people come here to stay in the mountains or enjoy the rivers. Our gasoline costs, motel costs, are lower, comparatively," she said.
And tourism and hospitality professionals around the region depend on each other, she said.
"We are all tied together in this," Mrs. Woody said. "What happens in Chattanooga and Hamilton County is important to us. If Chattanooga does well, it helps us."
Harvey Neal, chairman of the Dalton Hospitality Association, said his North Georgia city is an attractive midpoint stop for Northerners traveling to Florida.
He said it's too early to tell how the national economy will impact local tourism numbers this spring.
"But we see a lot of families this time of year now. Spring break has become more of a family vacation time," Mr. Neal said.
"We still see most of our family visits in the fall when all the craft and fall fairs and festivals are taking place. But families on spring break is a growing trend.
"This is basically a corporate town through the week, so weekend events are a big help," the Dalton official said.
Mrs. Woody and Mr. Neal agreed that sports is becoming the biggest draw of all for local visitors.
Sports tournaments mean hotel guests and more diners, all paying local hotel and sales taxes.
Those visitors are most often families, they said. And if those families have a good experience, they'll come back for the next tournament.
"You have to treat folks like they are a guest in your own home," said Doug Phipps. He manages the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center and has a 21-year background with Disney Corp.
Sometimes that first smile can change a bad mood, said Ms. Brock.
"They come off the interstate," she said. "They are tired or upset. It could have been bad traffic or something. And you smile at them, and everything changes."
To see more of the Chattanooga Times/Free Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.timesfreepress.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Chattanooga Times/Free Press, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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