The state agency overseeing tourism development is partnering with the Chattanooga Tourism Co. to host a townhall-like event at the Chattanooga Convention Center later this month.
The event is open to all residents, and conversations will center around new laws that impact businesses in the downtown and Southside neighborhoods of Chattanooga.
The event is set to take place from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 22. The hosting organizations refer to the event as an “informal stakeholder conversation about the Tourism Development Zone in Chattanooga,” according to a Tuesday press release.
“It’s important that our event producers, local businesses and hospitality partners have an opportunity to hear directly from our partners at the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, ask questions and understand what’s being considered,” said a emailed statement attributed to Donna Elle Harrison, vice president of engagement and impact at Chattanooga Tourism Co.
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Local municipalities in Tennessee can create areas called tourism development zones to receive a portion of the sales tax generated within the area’s boundaries. The zones must center around a public-use facility, which in Chattanooga’s case is the Chattanooga Convention Center on Carter Street.
Chattanooga is one of only eight tourism development zones in the Volunteer State. In addition to Chattanooga, there are three in Memphis, one in Nashville, one in Knoxville and two in Sevier County.
Tourism development zones can span as large as 1 mile in radius, according to the state tourism agency’s website. In Chattanooga, the zone spans from downtown to Central Avenue, and from the Tennessee River to Interstate 24.
This region can use siphoned sales tax revenue to reinvest in public facilities or businesses within the zone. Those investments help improve the quality of tourism, according to state Sen. Bo Watson, R-North Chattanooga.
“Tennessee is a great tourism state and, by and large, those zones have worked for the purpose of which they were intended,” Watson said in a phone call.
Watson this year helped spearhead a set of tourism-zone-related bills that were signed into Tennessee law. The new regulations aim to keep tourism traffic high by limiting the ability of local governments to block off streets to pedestrians within these zones, according to Watson. The idea, he said, is to make sure businesses remain easily accessible.
“Commercial enterprises that are in the tourist development zone rely on the traffic of people coming through to be successful,” Watson said in a phone call. “When we limit that, it has a negative impact on the development zone as well as on the commercial enterprises that are there.”
THE LEGISLATION
The legislation — Senate Bill 2157 and House Bill 2366 — went fully into effect Aug. 1.
The bills state that local municipalities cannot block off any street within tourism development zones “in a manner that disrupts the operation of businesses.” A few exceptions, such as for first responders during emergencies or approved construction projects, are permitted.
The new legislation also explicitly states that state highway patrol will have “concurrent law enforcement authority” along with local agencies inside tourism zones. This allows the highway patrol to make arrests and investigate crimes inside the tourism zones, according to the bill.
“If people will come to the state for permission to establish those zones,” Watson said, “then the state should have the ability to have some jurisdiction there.”
The laws also aim to keep the streets with Tennessee’s tourism zones “safe and comfortable,” Watson said. The bill requires that the rules are used to “regulate unlawful loitering, sitting, camping or sleeping on public property” in order to make sure that businesses within tourism zones remain easily accessible.
(READ MORE: Tourism generates nearly $1.9B in Hamilton County in 2025)
“This bill isn’t about the homeless,” Watson said, “but it is about creating environments that tourists or guests to our community feel safe and feel welcome and see our city as a clean place to visit and it makes them want to come back.”
LOCAL IMPACT
Tourism in Hamilton County generated nearly $1.9 billion in visitor spending in 2025, according to the most recent data from the Tennessee Department of Tourism Development. That was a 4% increase compared to visitor spending in 2024, and the fifth consecutive year of revenue growth for the county.
The state tourism agency put “emergency” regulations into place that address the recently signed legislation as of Aug. 1, according to the Tuesday press release. Those regulations are not permanent. The agency plans to implement permanent regulations after agency staff conduct stakeholder conversations in all eight tourism zones across the state.
“This stakeholder session gives our local partners an opportunity to hear those details directly, ask questions and provide feedback as these conversations move forward,” said an emailed statement attributed to Harrison.
The due date to RSVP for the event is Sept. 18. All residents are encouraged to apply to participate in the conversation. More information can be found on Chattanooga Tourism Co.‘s and the Tennessee Department of Tourism Development’s websites.
Contact digital producer Sam Kohn at skohn@timesfreepress.com.