Rockslide could change tourist travels to Sevier County

A Sunday rockslide will shut down I-40 for months. It happened just as leaf viewing season peaks in the Smoky Mountains.

"Leaves are at their peak right now," Pigeon Forge Tourism Director Leon Downey said.

Tourism leaders from the three cities in Sevier county gathered Monday to celebrate a tourism milestone: Winterfest.

It used to be that when the leaves dropped, so did tourism in Sevier County. But that's changed since Winterfest started, two decades ago. It's a winter light display designed to pump up business in the off-season.

A luncheon Monday celebrated 20 years of Winterfest. At the event, University of Tennessee Tourism Institute Director and Economist Steve Morse documented jumps in hotel occupancy and sales tax revenue as well as drops in unemployment.

"Winterfest is a great example of three cities getting together and marketing their effort for a winter season and capturing some tourist demand that wasn't there before," Morse said.

The lights turn on for Winterfest next week. Morse thinks the rock slide could convince tourists to stay on this side of the state line.

"Because the blockage is both lanes right now, I understand, it could possibly mean some people will choose Sevier County as opposed to going over to the Asheville or Charlotte side," Morse said.

Those in charge of enticing visitors to Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, and Sevierville hope the blocked road won't keep away tourists from the other side of the rock slide.

"We have high repeat visitation here in Sevier County for our visitors, and I think most of them will choose to come even if it is a bit longer way to get here," Downey said. "It will slow down our guests, but there are ways, thank goodness, to get here."

Detours Established

Drivers traveling from Tennessee to western North Carolina via I-40 are advised to take one of two eastbound detours.

Drivers traveling from Tennessee to western North Carolina via I-40 are advised to take one of two eastbound detours.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) recommends traveling east to North Carolina via I-81 to Johnson City, then taking I-26 to Asheville.

Drivers in normal passenger vehicles can also take Highway 25-70 from Newport into North Carolina.

A trooper told 10 News transfer trucks are unable to utilize 25-70 due to weight restrictions and construction on a narrow bridge near the state line.