Walker Rocks: A shining tourism initiative
In June 2018, Walker County took a large step towards improving business by starting Walker Rocks, a tourism initiative, which branded Walker County as an outdoor adventure destination.
Walker Rocks, a partnership between the Walker County Chamber of Commerce and Walker County Government, highlights the scenic and stunning destinations available in the county for rock climbing, caving, kayaking, hiking, biking and other outdoor experiences. The campaign launched with the creation of videos highlighting local attractions, a start-up grant competition to encourage business growth in the tourism industry and the introduction of walkerrocks.com and several social media platforms, among other efforts.
Over the past year, this initiative has blossomed into an integral part of the community. Their marketing has, so far, been entirely a grassroots initiative, and by the end of the year, gained over 3,700 facebook followers, with forty-five countries represented in that follow- ing. They also hosted a StartUp Pitch competition last year, which brought continued news coverage as well as bringing about a start-up to help Battlefield Outdoors transport outdoor enthusiasts to hiking, biking, and kayaking destinations in the county.
Additionally, with Facebook events, a Walker County based calendar has been created, which shares all of the various marathons, bike rides, walks, festivals, and other events that the area has to offer. These events have included things such as the Ironman, which resulted in additional promotion for the initiative.
Walker Rocks was also recognized in 2018 for Best Marketing Campaign by Northwest Georgia’s Historic High Country Travel Association, which is comprised of travel industry professionals from 17 counties.
“It’s thrilling to know that others in the region are taking note of what we have to offer here in Walker County,” said Lacey Wilson, President of the Walker County Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber is proud to be part of the collaborative team working to showcase and share the assets of this community with the rest of the world.”
Robert Wardlaw, Economic & Community Development Director for Walker County Government, said “This validates the valuable role tourism plays in our community. Six months in and we’re already seeing an increase in sales tax revenue and a boost in occupancy at area accommodations.” Wardlaw added, “Walker Rocks is fun, but Walker Rocks is also an economic initiative to help bring equity to our tax base, which in turn helps our citizens.”
In 2019, Walker Rocks is planning for additional web videos highlighting Lula Lake, Cloudland Station, Battlefield Outdoors, and many more exciting activities and destinations. They are also planning to reprise their Start-Up Pitch Challenge, include “selfie spots” where people can tag photos of themselves at tourist destinations, forge additional partnerships outside of their market, expand the merchandise selection, and open a Walker Rocks Headquarters, possibly transforming a portion of the Civic Center into a Welcome Center for visitors.
Since the launch of this initiative, data shows people are visiting Walker County and spending money. There has been an $88,519 increase in sales tax revenue compared to the same five months in 2017. At this rate, it seems as though Walker Rocks has taken the community by storm, and has many exciting adventures to continue into the next year.