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Gatlinburg convention bureau reports mixed second-quarter results, cites AI and shifting travel patterns
Summary
Chad Netherland, president and CEO of the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitor Bureau, told the Gatlinburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen that Q2 showed strong app use and convention bookings but declines in some website metrics linked to changes in how people search for travel information.
Chad Netherland, president and CEO of the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitor Bureau, presented the bureau's second-quarter report to the Gatlinburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen, describing a mix of gains and declines across marketing and visitation metrics.
Netherland said most measurable website metrics were down in Q2 and attributed the decline to changes in how people get travel information from devices and AI-driven search features. "Almost all of those measurable metrics that you see are down. This is attributed to what's happening in the AI world," Netherland said. He contrasted that with strong performance for the bureau's app, which he said showed sessions up about 240% year over year.
The presentation included event and convention-center statistics: in April the city hosted 13 events with about 19,000 attendees, the convention center recorded about 16,000 visitors in May, and about 8,000 guests in June. Netherland also reported a 5% year-over-year increase in visitor-services traffic for the quarter and said the convention-sales database contains roughly 3,500 potential prospects.
Netherland described heavy public-relations activity tied to the city's 50th Fourth of July parade and other outreach. He said Q2 PR placements reached an estimated 291,000,000 impressions and pointed to coverage in outlets including Forbes, iHeartRadio and MSN. He told aldermen that the bureau will keep testing new metrics to track where traffic is going as consumer behavior shifts.
Board members asked questions about parade attendance and marketing effectiveness. Commissioner Gary asked whether the reported travel budget figures applied to individuals or families; Netherland replied they reflected family budgets. "That's family because it's an average traveler budget," Netherland said.
Netherland closed by saying the bureau is monitoring broader travel trends influencing demand, including inflation, rising credit-card debt and younger travelers' rising preference for budget options such as cruises.
The bureau supplied a slide deck and offered to provide the commission with the full report and links to the referenced coverage.
