A plan to turn Waynesville’s old town hall into a visitor center and the headquarters for a suite of tourism, commerce and business development agencies appears to be dead.

The Haywood tourism industry is on a winning streak.

Waynesville’s old town hall on Main Street could be converted into a garrison for tourism, business and economic development agencies — a move that would save each of the entities money and promote teamwork.

The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority plans to grow its staff to five as it dives into reviewing applications for a new group sales manager.

Jack Ewing stepped over a pail of drywall mud, dodged electrical wires dangling from the ceiling and picked his way across construction debris littering the bare concrete floor of the gutted Terrace Hotel room.

Ghost Town owner Alaska Presley was willing to sacrifice a piece of the theme park property to generate some cash for her Resurrection Mountain project, but a new opportunity has come along that will hopefully allow her to redevelop the entire park.

Maggie Valley officials are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel after experiencing several tumultuous years.

Town officials took time to revel in their 2014 accomplishments while setting goals for 2015 during a recent retreat. While 2013 marked a tough year for the town with a divided board of aldermen, some big staff changes, unhappy residents and businesses and a struggling local economy, 2014 was far more productive. 

Three new members have been appointed to the tourism board in Haywood County that guides tourism marketing, promotions and development.

The recent round of appointments to the Tourism Development Authority continues a changing of the guard on the tourism board that’s been playing out for two years now. Of the 12-member board, eight have been appointed in the last two years.

A flaw in the economic model that calculates tourism  impact in the mountains has been uncovered, resulting in a major adjustment to tourism spending in Jackson and Swain counties.

Every year, the N.C. Department of Commerce releases the economic impact of tourism by county. For years, Swain was heads and shoulders above Jackson. But not anymore.

The Jackson County Tourism Development Authority may be slimming down. Eventually. 

“It’s in discussion,” said Robert Jumper, chairman of the tourism authority. 

The Jackson TDA was launched by county commissioners and is charged with marketing the area and attracting tourist dollars. The tourism board currently consists of 15 members, all hailing from various pockets of the area’s tourism-related businesses.