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Sweetwater Main Street visits rise; city to reapply for Adventure Tourism District
Summary
City tourism and Main Street directors reported rising Main Street visits and festival attendance, outlined marketing wins and partnerships, and said the board will consider a resolution in April to reapply for Tennessee's Adventure Tourism District program. Officials also warned of pending state limits on raising the hotel/motel tax.
Haley Isboil, the city's tourism presenter, told the Sweetwater City Council workshop that the city's tourism metrics show mixed results countywide but growth in the Main Street district.
"There were 5,100,000 visits to the City Of Sweetwater in 2024," Isboil said, citing Placer data, and she reported that the Main Street District recorded 997,600 visits last year, an 11% increase year‑over‑year, with about 204,000 of those counted as visitors.
The numbers matter because tourism revenue pays for events, marketing and grants the city and Main Street use to attract visitors. Isboil said the city will seek to renew its designation as an Adventure Tourism District, a state program that makes qualifying businesses eligible for job tax credits; the board is expected to consider a resolution to reapply in April.
Main Street Director Josh Isaac gave complementary details on downtown activity and investment. "The total public investment was $1,425,409.86," Isaac said, and he reported $316,200 in private investment. He highlighted successful events, a 100+ member Junior Main Street program and the town's continued festival calendar, including Wolfstock and the 150th anniversary programming.
Isboil and Isaac described specific marketing initiatives that officials say helped attendance: a regional Cinematourism "romcom" campaign that boosted small businesses on Valentine's Day, national mentions through StyleBlueprint and ongoing work with Tennessee Home and Farm. Isboil said she is also using Zartico in addition to Placer to refine visitor spending and origin data.
Officials cautioned that statewide legislative changes could limit Sweetwater's options on hotel/motel tax rates. Isboil said current combined rates (city plus county) put Sweetwater at about 7.25% and that many nearby cities are at 9%. She told the board that a pending state bill would cap local authority and, if enacted July 1, could limit future increases; she estimated an additional 1–1.5 percentage points in city tax would yield roughly $40,000 a year to the tourism fund.
Isboil asked the board to expect a resolution in April to renew the Adventure Tourism District designation and recommended continuing investments in marketing, the mural trail and the 150th anniversary events that will anchor visitor programming this year.
Looking ahead, Isboil said Ball River Falls and the reopened Lost Eden will affect countywide visitation, and she encouraged continued coordination among Main Street, tourism and the chamber to sustain growth.
