MUD FORK — Tourism brought tens of millions of dollars into Logan County in 2008, a report from the West Virginia Tourism Commission said yesterday at a roundtable discussion.

The meeting was held at Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College Thursday at 2 p.m.

Many of the people at the meeting were familiar faces in the local tourism scene including Randy Kveton, Jeff Lusk, John Fekete, Bill Richardson, Diane Barnette, Debrina Williams, Glen Yost and Serafino Nolletti, among others.

Jane Bostic of the West Virginia Division of Tourism welcomed the guests and explained the purpose of the meeting was to help area businesses to network with others who dealt with tourism to better assist them with working together.

Bostic also distributed new research material about the economic impact of tourism in West Virginia from a study done from 2008 figures. The information was compiled by Dean Runyon Associates.

The total amounts of which may surprise some:

√ Travel spending amounted to $4.3 billion and created 44,000 jobs which generated $544 million in revenues in the Mountain State for the period studied (2008). Local travel alone generated $47 million. Travel spending in West Virginia increased every year from 2000. Such spending brought in a total earnings of $912 million.

Without the revenues from visitors each household in the state would have had to have contributed an extra $799 a year in state and local taxes to maintain current state service levels.

The local impact was also staggering.

√ In 2008, Logan County saw $51.8 million spent by tourists which brought in $150,000 in local tax revenues.

√ Mingo County saw $28.3 million in tourism spending which brought in $128,000 in tax revenues.

√ Boone County saw $33.5 million brought in by tourists which amounted to $83,000 in tax revenues.

The states' biggest winner from tourism was Jefferson County which saw $729 million in tourist spending for a total of $10 million in tax revenues.

"Tourism pays," Bostic said, noting that it was also changing the way people viewed West Virginia.

The primary purpose of the meeting was networking and a lot of people found others to talk with about what they did and their interests.

Diana Barnette, the owner and operator of the Fountain Place Cinema 8, met with Bill Richardson, a local filmmaker and documentarian and discussed how the current economic downturn doesn't seem to have affected the film industry in its revenues.

However, both also are involved in economic development groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and economic development projects. Richardson explained one project he is currently working on — a tourism web site.

"I am optimistic," Richardson said, noting that the site will be user friendly and will have links to other local web sites.

Barnette also operates a successful machine fabrication shop with her husband and family.

Richardson said even though the region has changed in many ways, the coal industry is still the backbone of the local economy.

Jim Frye of the Aracoma Story Inc. and Pepsi Co., met with Gilbert Mayor Vivian Livingood and discussed the outdoor dramas at Chief Logan Park and the many different ways of drawing visitors to small southern West Virginia towns.

Mayor Livingood said she wanted to see what opportunities there were for her town, which was why she attended the tourism round table.

"I also want to see what grants are available and if we can get assistance to utilize grants or get matching funding to do advertising," she explained. "This is a good way to find out what is out there and where to apply for help. It was also enjoyable to meet face to face with people whom you usually only deal with over the phone, and I have enjoyed meeting them in person."

Livingood, who is also the director of the Gilbert convention and visitors bureau said her town has grown dramatically over the past decade due to the increase in tourism brought in by the Hatfield-McCoy trails.

"Tourism has changed us and we have to come on board and grow with it," she said. "And you meet so many nice visitors. During the recent floods we actually had trail riders and tourists who came and brought cleaning supplies and wanted to help out. These were tourists who came back to help. When you experience that, you realize you are still living in a good America."

Other local CVB directors were also present at the roundtable.

West Virginia Division of Tourism Commissioner Betty Carver spoke with many people about how they could work together for mutual benefit and to help those interested in visiting the Mountain State.

She noted the tremendous impact the Hatfield-McCoy trails have had on tourism in West Virginia pointing to motorcycle enthusiasts who are now coming to the region in droves.

Earlier in the day, Bostic, Carver and Hatfield-McCoy Convention Visitor’s Bureau Director Debrina Williams had taken others on a guided tour of the new Chief Logan Park Rec Center.

Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority Deputy Director Jon Fekete said he was surprised the event didn't have a larger turnout.

"I wish more people would have attended, because this would have been beneficial to many of them," he said. "We constantly have vendors and others asking us to do more for them and this meeting was a very well planned out concept that could have done just that for a lot of potential entrepreneurs.”

Fekete took the opportunity to talk with representatives of a customer service company who he felt might have the ability to provide some much needed help to the Hatfield-McCoy Trails in providing information to potential visitors, and spoke with Mayors Nolletti and Livingood about municipal issues as he is also a Man Town Councilmember.

Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority Executive Director Jeff Lusk discussed the success the trails have had with others in the tourism business and spoke about areas of opportunity.

Carver said another important side benefit from tourism was how it changed peoples bad perceptions about West Virginia and rural Appalachia for the better by destroying old stereotypes.

"They are happy and excited to find out when they get here that West Virginia is not like what they sometimes expected from outdated views," she said. "When they leave they have a whole different attitude about our state and they tell others how enjoyable they found it."

Carver said she hopes the Chief Logan Rec Center will work together with the Chief Logan Lodge to provide customers with workout time as a hotel amenity. She said all the facets of the tourism industry in Logan County need to work together to help bring people in.