One NE Georgia county among three in three states seeking to boost tourism appeal

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Posted 5:31PM on Monday, January 3, 2005

UNDATED - With a $150,000 government grant, officials from three states have been working on a strategy to increase the tourism appeal of its region. Officials from Georgia's Fannin County, Cherokee County in North Carolina, and Polk County in Tennessee make up the Three Corners Economic Development Partnership. One of their first orders of business during a meeting last month was to rename the group ``Three Corners'' instead of Southern Appalachian Partnership. ``This part of the country, which ends up as a wonderful day trip from Atlanta or Chattanooga, wants to change its image,'' said Beth Jones of the Southeast Industrial Development Association, based in Chattanooga, Tenn. The group is working to develop an economic development fund that markets and promotes the tri-state region, using a recent $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development program to boost their efforts. ``They're so small that they can't go out and promote individually,'' Jones said. Each of the three counties will attempt to take local attractions and present them in a way that augments the region's appeal as a travel destination. Fannin County's star attraction is the town of Blue Ridge. It also offers the Toccoa River, which is famous for trout fishing, the Chattanooga National Forest and the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. ``We have all the things you come to the mountains for,'' said Jan Hackett, executive director of the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce. ``It's a place to get away, and we have a lot of cabin rentals, hiking, horseback riding and water sports.'' Cherokee County's attractions include an extensive collection of American Indian artifacts in the county's museum and the historic Harshaw Chapel and Cemetery, where many of the first white settlers in the area are buried. Polk County, Tenn., was the site of the 1996 Olympic whitewater competition on the Ocoee River. Canoeists, fishermen and kayakers enjoy the Hiwassee River, and the Conasauga River has the only underwater wildlife viewing area in Tennessee.