Hotel packages offer in-town vacations

Many visitors come to Chattanooga to experience the city’s rich railroad history firsthand, but now that the passenger rails lie dormant, many tourists use a different means of transit here.

Every year, motor-coach companies bring many tour groups to experience the Scenic City’s diverse attractions, said Charles Pierce, director of outside operations and tour director at All Aboard Travel.

“This is a crazy time of year,” he said, rattling off 14 to 16 tours scheduled to arrive in the next two weeks. “I’d say we probably deal with 300-350 tours, total, a year.”

A typical bus tour averages between 25 and 30 passengers for adult groups. School groups tend to be much larger, averaging 50 to 150, Mr. Pierce said.

Once visitors arrive, the variety of activities tends to catch them off guard, said Lorrie Quinn, marketing director at the Chattanooga Choo-Choo.

“Once they get here, it’s like, ‘Wow, I didn’t realize there was so much to do in Chattanooga,’ ” she said. “People didn’t realize how pretty our city is until they get here, and if they do decide to stay just one night, nine times out of 10, they’re going, ‘Oh, we wish we had more time to spend here.’ ”

The motor-coach season generally spikes from mid-March through May and during fall and the holiday season.

Numbers slip during the summer because the majority of motor coaches carry seniors and students, groups that don’t travel as often during the summer months, Ms. Quinn said.

Although the Choo-Choo offers theme packages for individual bookers that include tickets to area attractions, motor-coach tours tend to have prearranged itineraries for their passengers. If they don’t, however, Ms. Quinn said she’s more than happy to direct them to area attractions.