Published June 1990 — Download PDF of the original newspaper column
Byrd's-Eye View By U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd Building the Tourism Industry In West Virginia Over the years, West Virginia's coal-rich hills and hollows have contributed to our state's economic prosperity. Today, as we search for ways to broaden and diversify West Virginia's economy, those rugged hills and hollows may hold the promise of a new economic bounty: tourism. Recently, as a result of my efforts to promote tourism in West Virginia, representatives from the 13-state Appalachian Region met at Pipestem State Park in Mercer County for a three-day workshop on tourism development. Hosted by Concord College and the Appalachian Regional Commission, the purpose of this workshop was to foster tourism throughout the Appalachian area. During this workshop, I encouraged the Appalachian Regional Commission to establish an Appalachian Tourism Development Center at Concord College, to be coordinated with West Virginia University. Although this center would serve the entire Appalachian region, its location in West Virginia would enhance other efforts on which I am currently working to promote tourism in our state. Toward that goal, last year I obtained nearly $8.7 million to develop recreational and tourism possibilities along the New River Gorge National River; $850,000 for the purchase of thirteen Ohio River islands for the establishment of West Virginia's first national wildlife refuge; and $2.5 million for continued construction and restoration at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. Additionally, I obtained $73 million for continued construction of Appalachian Corridor Highways G and H in West Virginia, which will link our state highway system more adequately to some of our country's greatest population centers and increase West Virginia's appeal as a vacation destination for added millions of Americans. The wise and coordinated development of West Virginia's tourism potential, through the establishment of an Appalachian Tourism Development Center can lay a new economic foundation for our state, bringing new hope and prosperity to Appalachia. June 6, 1990