Great Smoky Mountains national park host tourism week and Employee of the year celebration today.

More than 9,000,000 people a year visit the Great Smoky Mountains national park and pump more than 700 million dollars in the to the surrounding communities such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Maggie Valley, Townsend, Bryson City, Cherokee, Cosby and more.

Today at 11:30 am a family of tourists will be honored on the lawn of the park headquarters in the Sugarlands as well as the Great Smoky Mountains national park Employee of the year: the Administrative Assistant for the Division of Resource Education, Susan Ross.

The more time is spend intimately involved in the park, the more I see that the people behind the scene such as Susan Ross are what protect this priceless place, enhance every visitors experience and drive the local economies of the gateway cities.

Susan Ross is the coordinator of education and visitor programs throughout the entire Great Smoky Mountains national park making sure that 9 million plus visitors get the most out of their experience in the Smokies.

Her experience in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is not just behind as desk but was in the front lines of the GSMNP as a crew leader in removal of nonnative vegetation, a fire use manager and even an emergency dispatcher.

According the Great Smoky Mountains national parks Superintendent Dale Ditmanson "She has a positive and progressive attitude, willingness to assist and encourage others, ability to coordinate the many activities of a diverse and demanding division, and desire to tackle challenging situations with new, fresh approaches are all attributes that have gained Susan this recognition".

The host and co-producer of WBIR-Knoxville Heartland Series Bill Landry will serve as the Employee of the Year emcee, and the co-hosts of the event include: Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, Gatlinburg Department of Tourism, Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, Smoky Mountains Visitors Bureau, Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotions in North Carolina, and Newport/Cocke County Tourism Council.

Congratulations Susan Ross on a job well done. Your work is the Great Smoky Mountains national park has touched many and a legacy of education and love for the Smokies will carry on for generations.

Smoky Mountains Tourism for summer of 2007

Soaring gas prices across the nation and now more terrorism concerns for Americans traveling oversea spell good news for business that depend on tourism in the NC and TN Smoky Mountains.

Even though local Smokies businesses were worried lasts year that their summer season could be a bust because of the huge post Katrina gas price increases, they found their fears were unfounded.

Higher occupancies in and hotels and motels and vacation rental properties in the Smokies showed that tourists still wanted to get away and the higher gas prices were a small price to pay to enjoy the Smokies.

Many who we asked who normally would have gone cross country or taken longer trips were very satisfied to stay closer to home and explore the Smoky Mountains.

Since the devastation of 9-11 many travelers have also decide to stay at home in the continental US where they feel safer and especially with the recent arrest of an Ohio terrorist who was working to plot attacks against American tourists in Europe this thinking is here to stay.

To combat the higher prices of gas when driving in the Smokies remember these tips:

1. Don't use premium gas unless your car or truck requires it. Yep this was a shocker to me that you don't get better mileage but using premium gas!
2. Keep your tires inflated and check them before and during your trip at least once. You can lose a significant amount of gas mileage (about 5%) for every pound of under inflation. Steel belted radial tires increase mileage by around 10%.
3. Change your oil and air filter if needed before a long trip. High quality synthetic oil can also make a difference.
4. Tune up your car when needed. Although cars require less maintenance than when they did in the past, you can still waste 25% of your gas with a car that needs a significant tune up.
5. Avoiding jack rabbit acceleration and driving at a reasonable speed will also make a huge difference to your gas mileage and pocketbook.
6. Don't let your car sit and idle for long periods if you can avoid it. Expect to waste at least a quart of gas every 15 minutes - more with air-conditioning on!
7. If you have cruise control on a highway and conditions permit use it. Maintaining an even speed a not having to slow down and speed up to pass slower cars will save plenty of gas.
8. Coast when you can to save gas if you see a red light or traffic up ahead. Resuming a normal driving speed from 5 MPH rather than a dead stop reduces gas consumption by 20%.

Lastly this won't save you much gas if any but will save your brakes when driving in the mountains. Check your owners manual for details but when driving downhill in the Smoky Mountains use a lower gear rather than just riding your brakes.

Tourists Flock to NC Smoky Mountains and spend more than ever.

The North Carolina Smoky Mountains have experienced a huge increase in tourism seeing some 45 million visitors last year who have spent an excess of 15 billion dollars making North Carolina rank 6th in the nation for tourism.

Tourists are finding that the Smokies offer an exceptional value close to home and more and more affluent people who normally vacationed far away from home are opting to enjoy their vacations closer to home in the Smokies.

North Carolina is benefiting in a big way bringing in $1.3 billion in local and state taxes as tourism has increased more than 50% in the past 10 years alone. Last years 8.3% increase in tourist dollars spent in NC was also a huge benefit to a myriad of local business from North Carolina cabin companies, hotels, restaurants, gift shops and more.

North Carolina hotels in Asheville occupancy rates have gone from 64% in 2005 to $66% in 2006 brining in sales of $156 million - $18 million more than the prior year. Vacation and cabin rentals companies in North Carolina have also seen significant increases in the number of visitors and the lengths of stay.