Kentucky to Canada: send more tourists

While the state of Kentucky welcomed more than 200,000 Canadian travellers in 2014, Governor Steve Beshear said the state is always looking for more.

U.S. Consul General Jim Dickmeyer welcomed the governor to his Toronto residence for a reception last night, meeting with Canadian business and trade partners. The evening was complete with a special bourbon tasting, allowing guests to sip and savour one of the state’s most well-known exports.

While the event was primarily a business function, Governor Beshear sat down with PAX for an exclusive interview regarding the state’s tourism industry, described by the governor as one of Kentucky’s “biggest economic engines.”

“We have quite a few Canadian visitors to Kentucky every year, but we always want more,” Governor Beshear told PAX. “Last year, we had a $13.14 billion impact from tourism in the state. Our natural beauty is always a draw; we have mountains in the east, lakes in the west and the beautiful horse country in the centre.”

In addition to the natural landscapes and events like the Kentucky Derby, the state has also capitalized on its reputation as the world’s bourbon capital to draw even more travellers.

With 95 per cent of the world’s bourbon produced in Kentucky, several of the state’s distilleries have banded together to create the Bourbon Trail, a tourist attraction that has caught worldwide attention, which Beshear likened to California’s wine country.

“Last year, it had over 800,000 visitors,” the governor said, “and about 80 per cent of those visitors were from out of state. That’s a big boost for our economy. The distilleries have all built beautiful visitors’ centres, restaurants, tasting rooms, gift shops; it can be an all-day experience at just one distillery.”

As for increasing the number of Canadian arrivals to the state, Beshear said Kentucky is embarking on an advertising campaign promoting the state’s travel draws to raise awareness of a destination which is often overshadowed by its peers in other states.

“We find travellers know New York, they know San Francisco, L.A. and Florida,” the governor said, “but there’s a great world in between all of that and the best of it is in the commonwealth of Kentucky.”

More information can be found at www.kentuckytourism.com and www.kybourbontrail.com.