Pigeon Forge tourism fuels job creation, funds community development
by: Naomi Hillmer
Posted: Jun 4, 2026 / 12:13 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 4, 2026 / 03:16 PM EDT
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WATE) — As roughly 12 million people visit the Great Smoky Mountains National Park each year, many find themselves stopping in the mountain towns around it.
Out of Tennessee’s 95 counties, Sevier County ranks third in the state for visitor spending. The City of Pigeon Forge and its tourism department said that money goes directly back into the community.
“In Pigeon Forge, tourism is our business. So wherever those jobs are created, it’s just that opportunity for people to raise their families and make a living, and tourism supports that,” said interim Director of Tourism Pigeon Forge Amy Warner.
Warner said tourism not only creates jobs for the people living in the area, but it also funds the draw to bring more visitors there.
“Those marketing dollars, we’re able to do travel and adventure shows. This spring, we did a media tour. We traveled to 16 different cities, did 26 interviews, all TV interviews, and that was just spreading word about what Pigeon Forge has to offer,” she said. “In the last year, we’ve probably had about 8 million people who have stayed in Pigeon Forge. You know, everybody has different data that they look at. But it’s literally millions of guests choosing Pigeon Forge to be their destination.”
Plus, it’s not just tourism dollars bringing people up the parkway. Tourism money spent in Pigeon Forge also goes toward developments, such as a new police department and city hall.
“Everything you see in the city of Pigeon Forge is funded by the revenue from the tourist tax dollars. From our buildings to our services that we offer, just our greenways, everything that you see that’s a part of Pigeon Forge is from that,” said City of Pigeon Forge Public Information Officer Craig Cruise.
After opening a new fire hall last year, the city is now working on new buildings for both the police department and city hall, with construction set to begin in June.
Cruise said this not only improves public safety, but also goes beyond the physical realm, with the new app Pigeon Forge Connect.
“It’s a see, click, and fix app, so if you see a problem such as a pothole, a tree that might be in the road, or something like that, all you gotta do is go on the app, put it in where it’s at, and it’ll go directly to that department. You’ll get an email back saying that they’ve taken care of it and how they’re taking care of all that stuff. It’s really an interactive tool that we’ve added,” he said.
Whether the tourism department is planting 10,000 flowers to draw people in for spring, or the City is developing new technology to better serve the community, both are done with locals and visitors in mind.
“It’s something where we’re always looking for ways for our residents to enjoy the area as much as the guests that are visiting,” said Warner.
Cruise added that visitor spending also contributes to keeping property taxes down.