1.1 Project Background

As afforded by state law, the McDowell County Tourism Development Authority (MCTDA) is responsible for collecting and managing a six percent occupancy or “bed tax” on any short-term lodging such as hotels, B&Bs, and vacation home rentals. The MCTDA staff and Board of Directors have a responsibility to effectively steward occupancy tax revenues in two ways: 1) successfully marketing the County to draw visitors; and 2) improving its “tourism-related capital infrastructure” or built environment to help grow tourism. A minimum of two-thirds of revenues may be used for program administration and marketing, while up to one-third of revenues can be used to invest in the built environment. While this plan briefly addresses branding and marketing, the purpose of this plan is to cast a 15-year vision for how the MCTDA can best utilize its capital infrastructure funds to enhance the county’s built environment and tourism “product.”

The Destination McDowell Tourism Master Plan is the result of nearly 12 months of intensive planning led by the McDowell County Tourism Development Authority and its many partners. As expressed by stakeholders throughout the planning process, the planning effort is critical for uniting the county together with a common purpose and strategy for investing in tourism infrastructure development. This cooperative planning effort ensures the stewardship of the MCTDA’s capital infrastructure budget, while situating the organization and its partners in an optimal position to leverage local funding to win federal, state, and private grant dollars.

With effective leadership and an unwavering execution of this plan’s initiatives, it is certain that visitors from throughout the region, state, and country will come to know Destination McDowell!

While this plan briefly addresses branding and marketing, the purpose of this plan is to cast a 15-year vision for how the MCTDA can best utilize its capital infrastructure funds to enhance the county’s built environment to grow tourism.