Chamber announces ’17 Benchmarking Trip
The Greater Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce announced Thursday that it will visit Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 8-10 for its fourth annual Benchmarking Trip.
The annual event takes a group of community leaders to a town that shares similar challenges with Hot Springs, learns how they overcame obstacles and looks for innovative methods to implement back home, the Chamber of Commerce said in a news release.
“We chose Chattanooga this year because the leadership of that community made some strong decisions years ago that are paying dividends now in four main areas including broadband, industrial park development, tourism growth and downtown development,” Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Fram said at a news conference on Thursday at the chamber building.
The release noted Chattanooga became the first 1 Gigabit City in the U.S. in 2010 by supplying high-speed internet to all residents and businesses; the city and Hamilton County purchased 3,000 acres from the military and codeveloped an industrial park that has attracted over $1 billion in investment and created 7,500 jobs through Volkswagen, Amazon and other businesses; its number of tourists has doubled since 2000, with visitor expenditures totaling
$1 billion in 2016; and its downtown has gained acclaim for a two-decade resurgence.
The cost to register before Sept. 8 is $895, which includes all travel, accommodations and meals. Non-chamber members may register for $1,495. Call 3211700 for more information.