Map to benefit local tourism

Despite rising gasoline prices, local tourism officials say a National Geographic Traveler magazine map of north Alabama driving trails will benefit local tourism.

Rick Peltz, alternate federal co-chairman for the Appalachian Regional Commission, enthusiastically announced Monday at the historic Tuscumbia railroad depot that four north Alabama driving trails will be included in the magazine's 2008 Appalachian Driving Tours Map.

Peltz said one million of the colorful fold-out maps will be printed and 865,000 will be distributed to National Geographic Traveler subscribers in the April issue. He said copies will be available for tourism offices and welcome centers across the region.

It's the second time north Alabama and Shoals tourist attractions have been featured in a National Geographic Traveler magazine tourism map.

"We're giving people ideas of places to go across this beautiful area called Appalachia," Peltz said.

Feedback generated by the first map, which was released in 2005 and featured Northwest Alabama attractions such as Ivy Green and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, both in Tuscumbia, and the Coon Dog Cemetery in Colbert County, increased tourism in areas featured on the map.

"Any time you get National Geographic to write about the South it's a good thing," said Susann Hamlin, executive director of the Colbert County Tourism & Convention Bureau.

The map features the North Alabama Hallelujah Trail, the North Alabama Birding Trail, the Natchez Trace Parkway and the Lookout Mountain Parkway, which is in northeast Alabama.

The North Alabama Hallelujah Trail is composed of 32 churches that are more than 100 years old, are still on their original site, are still holding services and are accessible to the public. The North Alabama Birding Trail includes 50 diverse bird watching sites compiled by wildlife biologists, bird enthusiasts and conservation organizations.

The Natchez Trace Parkway runs from Nasvhille, Tenn., through Lauderdale and Colbert counties in northwest Alabama, to Natchez, Miss., and was the main return route for Ohio Valley travelers.

The Lookout Mountain Parkway spans three states across Lookout Mountain from Gadsden through the northwest tip of Georgia to Chattanooga, Tenn.

Peltz said rising gas prices would not keep National Geographic Traveler readers from visiting the region.

"The subscribers have the wherewithal to get out and travel," he said.

The map will also open up new options for north Alabama residents who might want to take shorter trips closer to home because of gas prices.

"You will be able to see things in your own backyard," he said.

Debbie Wilson, executive director of the Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Bureau, said the map will help people plan their trips, which will allow them to use less fuel on their vacations.

"I really do think this plays into the challenging economy everybody seems to predict we're having or going to have," Wilson said. "People will want to plan more carefully because they want to make every cent count."

The variety of sites across north Alabama will also allow people to get multiple uses out of their vacations, Wilson said.

The map was commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission with support from the Alabama Mountain Lakes Association.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@timesdaily.com.