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Explore Crossville director cites social‑media, grants and Main Street status in push to grow visitor impact
Summary
Explore Crossville director PJ Barnes told council the DMO has doubled its social following, generated millions of video views, and unlocked about $350,000 in Main Street‑related grant access over the last year; Barnes invited council to a March 26 tourism summit and outlined several pending grant applications.
PJ Barnes, director of tourism and the city’s Main Street lead, told the council that the city’s tourism office has broadened marketing and grant activity and is starting to show measurable returns for small businesses.
"We were about 4,600 (followers) and we've grown to over 11,000 now," Barnes said, citing social‑media growth and the boost in visibility for downtown businesses after recent content campaigns.
Barnes presented impact figures and recent wins: a 2024 direct‑spending estimate of about $212.4 million for Cumberland County, roughly 7.2 million combined views across platforms last year, and early access to roughly $350,000 in grant opportunities following the Tennessee Main Street designation. He singled out potential and awarded grant programs including a $300,000 downtown improvement grant and a $60,000 tourism enhancement grant earmarked for wayfinding and downtown branding.
Barnes also previewed public events and partnerships to sustain momentum: a tourism summit and an Explore Nash documentary premiere scheduled at The Palace on March 26, programming to attract youth tournaments via Sports Destination Marketing, and ARPA‑funded testing of broadcast vs. streaming media buys.
Council members and staff discussed the timeline, matching requirements and how any continued city or county support might be structured. Barnes said several of the grants are 75/25 or 90/10 matches and that some awards (e.g., the TN2‑50 grant) are fully funded without local match.
What happens next: Barnes said formal invitations and RSVP links for the tourism summit will be circulated and recommended the council consider sustaining partial local funding if the state pilot funding ends later this year.
