On the path towards making the Cumberland Plateau region a major eco-heritage tourism destination in the Southeast, The Alliance for the Cumberlands has received a grant from USDA Rural Development to update the online strategy of their regional marketing plan with an innovative trip planning website. The new website will give users an intuitive tool for planning trips to the region and will be a new promotional outlet for the businesses that depend most on the region’s visitors.

“It’s so important to have financial support for the many efforts that are underway to promote the Cumberland Plateau region.” explained Zebulon Turrentine, Executive Director of Alliance for the Cumberlands, a nonprofit alliance of private and public sector partners whose mission is to conserve the natural, historic and cultural resources of the twenty-one county Cumberland Plateau region. “The Cumberland Plateau has provided its residents and visitors with a crucial connection to natural beauty and unique way of life. This new website will give everyone that lives and works here an effective way participate in our ongoing efforts to attract more attention to the plateau region.”

Since 2001 the Alliance for the Cumberlands has been building a strong network of member organizations throughout the region that are unified in their efforts to protect and grow the natural, cultural, and economic resources of the Cumberland Plateau region. The membership of the Alliance for the Cumberlands includes chambers of commerce, state and federal agencies, businesses and other non-profits. “The Alliance focuses on building common ground,” explained Turrentine. “We work in a region that has one of the world’s most unique natural landscapes, yet whose economy needs to grow. We believe that sustainable tourism has a great potential to both conserve our natural and cultural resources whilst growing the region’s economy.”

Construction of the new website will begin in October with completion scheduled for April or May. The USDA Rural Development funding will cover the complete construction of the website. Additional funding for this project was provided by The Tucker Foundation and the Cracker Barrel Foundation.

For more information contact Turrentine at 931-372-6125 or admin@cumberlands.org, or visit www.cumberlands.org.