CARTER COUNTY, Tenn. — A major development could be coming to Carter County that will boost both tourism and local revenue.

County Commissioners approved a motion to use the remaining $35,000 in ThreeStar Grant to search for a hotel developer. The county conducted a feasibility study that pegged three pieces of property as suitable options for a new hotel in Carter County.

The study found Carter County was a good fit for a mid-scale to upper mid-scale hotel.

Carter County Mayor Patty Woodby says this change could help boost the local economy.

“We depend on taxpayers in Carter County for the property owners, and so therefore a hotel would bring in a tremendous amount of hotel motel tax, which is in revenue stream..we’re losing a lot of Hotel Motel revenue and a lot of tax dollars that are bypassing Carter County to go into another county,” Woodby said.

Woodby says a hotel could bring more than just tax revenue.

“You’re getting a boom in your economics, and you’re also opening up our area for other individuals to see, maybe an investment in Carter County. You’re maybe another small business owner maybe wants to invest in our community, but without a hotel or some type of a chain hotel, we’re losing that recognition here,” she said.

The Carter County Chamber of Commerce is also in favor of a hotel.

“We do have so many of those people that are visiting and if they are choosing to stay in another community around ours, it does kind of pull away from that,” Seth Hice, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce said.

Hice says having a hotel could pay dividends for the tourism industry of the county.

“Our community has been really good at using their business to kind of draw them in, and even if they’re not staying here to kind of capture them. But having more people staying in the community and utilizing them right here would definitely be a big help…having a hotel and something that can kind of round out that offering and offer just another option would be something great for our tourism,” Hice said.

The search is ongoing for a developer, but Mayor Woodby says the county hopes to break ground on a new hotel in the summer of 2025.

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