Gatlinburg CVB reports strong fall, flags AI-driven website traffic drop in Q3

Chad Nezalwein, president and CEO of the Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the Gatlinburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen that the destination is seeing a “strong fall” even as third-quarter website sessions declined and new technology changed how visitors find information. "I think, we're having a strong fall," Nezalwein said as he opened the bureau's Q3 presentation and handed out a packet of highlights.

Nezalwein said sessions on gatlinburg.com were down about 18% in the quarter, which he attributed largely to AI scraping by large language models (LLMs); he said AI-driven scraping has increased exponentially and that destinations nationwide are reporting 30%–50% reductions in organic traffic. By contrast, the CVB's mobile app usage rose sharply (up 253% year-over-year), and email-marketing open rates averaged about 57% on roughly half a million emails sent during the quarter.

On social and public relations, Nezalwein reported a Q3 reach of more than 30 million people and listed multiple print and digital features—Garden & Gun, Pioneer Woman and World Atlas among them—plus influencer visits that are now a regular part of the CVB's PR strategy. The convention center hosted roughly 24,000 people in July; a combined August total (parade and golf tournament) was described as about 4,000; and September traffic through the center was reported as about 12,000. Sales activity and future bookings were described as mixed year-over-year, with some categories up significantly.

Human-resources and visitor-service metrics in the packet showed 35 full-time employees, seven part-time and one seasonal staff member for the CVB. Nezalwein said welcome-center traffic had been soft in July (about a 5.3% decline), nearly flat in August, up 1.6% in September and year-to-date up 22% in October—partly, he said, because alternate nearby welcome centers were closed.

Why it matters: the CVB's mix of rising app use, strong earned media and higher email engagement suggests audience shifts even as traditional web metrics decline, a combination that affects how the city markets Gatlinburg and plans for visitor services and convention activity.

Nezalwein's full packet (provided to the Board) lists additional metrics, event attendance by specific event, PR market placements, influencer names and future convention bookings. The presentation drew no substantive public opposition and no formal Board questions beyond expressions of thanks.