On Friday, March 3, 2017, Tennessee Commissioner of Tourist Development Kevin Triplett addressed the opening session of the 2017 Heartland Travel Showcase at the Music Road Resort Convention Center in Pigeon Forge.

The state-of-the-art LeConte Center at Pigeon Forge hosted the event’s marketplace where approximately 500 attendees from across the country gathered for the event. The marketplace matches those who sell group travel experiences, such as motor coach trips, with things to see and do.

With plenty to see and do, Pigeon Forge shouted its destination message to the tour and travel industry by introducing Heartland attendees to some of the city’s most popular attractions, including Country Tonite theater, Ole Smoky Moonshine, The Island in Pigeon Forge, Music Mansion Theater, Titanic Museum Attraction and Hatfield & McCoy Dinner Feud.

According to the American Bus Association, group travel in the U.S. heartland region each year is a $23 million industry.