What it is like to live like a local in Sevier County

by: Naomi Hillmer

Posted: Jul 9, 2026 / 12:00 PM EDT

Updated: Jul 9, 2026 / 05:23 PM EDT

SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Millions of people travel through Sevier County every year, many choosing the area as a destination stay, but others call it home.   

While the number of people visiting typically far outweighs those who live there, 6 News caught up with some locals and learned what life looks like in a tourism-driven area. 

Born and raised in Sevier County, Cierra Folino said living here can have its pros and its cons.   

“Living in Sevier County, I try to stay away from the city as much as possible,” said Folino.  

Folino said traffic is one of the main concerns, sometimes even driving to Newport or Knoxville just to go grocery shopping. But as a teacher it has its advantages. 

“I taught at a title one school my whole career, and the kids there, they don’t get to get out because their parents are working in the tourism industry and they don’t get home until 11, 12:00 at night when the restaurant’s closed, when the businesses closed. So we get to have the opportunity to take our kids on field trips, and we get to do, you know, let them experience things in the community that they don’t even know about,” she said.  

For others, it means providing for their life and family.   

“I mean tourism is what I do, so hospitality is our focus,” said Jason Ball with Blue Mountain Mist Country Inn and Spa. “Without it, we wouldn’t have food on the table. So, it’s been different. It’s been something that is a blessing and can not be sometimes.”  

Ball said his family has been here for generations, but it is the growth in tourism that he is concerned about.   

“We’re really losing out on small businesses. At one point in time, I think there was 20 like bnb’s, like locally small owned, lodging facilities in the area. We’re down to like ten. So that’s just been — since like 2015, 2016, we’ve lost half of those small businesses,” he said.  

With his family’s bed and breakfast located just off the Parkway, Ball said he, like many other locally owned businesses, is looking to become more of a “one-stop shop,” or their own destination, as visitors are deterred from some of the larger crowds seen in the cities of Sevier County.  

“We have guests that come and say, ‘We don’t want to go anywhere, like, we love the mountains,’ but they will DoorDash,” said Ball. “So, we serve breakfast and dinner, but we don’t serve the lunch. But they’ll like DoorDash for lunch, and you know, they’ll come and enjoy the spa, and it’ll be like a whole spa day. They try to avoid going into town as much as possible.”

While Ball is trying to get visitors to find him, rather than people stumbling upon this inn while they visit, Folino is hoping to make a change for the locals who live here — especially with a mayoral election on the horizon   

“Now I see that as an importance, and I’m like, oh, you know, I can vote on this. I can try to vote someone in that’s taking our voices and making them heard,” said Folino.   

Residents in the area also tell us that the cost of housing has increased as more people are moving to the area as well.   

But according to the County, if it were not for tax revenue generated by tourism, each household would pay over $11,000 more in their own taxes.