The Ashe County Chamber of Commerce has seen an influx of visitors or “traffic” since July and Executive Director Cabot Hamilton believes location may have a little something to do with that increase.

Following Independence Day, the chamber relocated from its office on E. Second Street to S. Jefferson Ave and the new location has brought more visitors to the chamber doors than ever before. In fact, the chamber logged 1,792 visitors in the month of October alone. The chamber’s numbers skyrocketed on Saturday, Oct. 24 when the office counted 239 visitors. That one day total is higher than some monthly totals in the winter months of 2004 and 2005.

“We anticipated a bunk (in visitors) when we relocated,” Hamilton said. “We are pleased but surprised because it is bigger than what we thought it would be.”

The record-high numbers are unlike any the chamber has seen since it began tallying the total number of visitors in January 2003.

“It kind of goes back to that old real estate motto. Location, location, location is everything,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton explained that the additional floor space for card racks and brochures at the new location has allowed the chamber to attract more visitors to the community and to better serve their membership base.

“At the chamber, one of our charges is to market our membership. When we were located at our former building, space prohibited some of that. Altogether, the additional space, card racks, and the overall design of the room allow us to merchandise our membership to not only Ashe County but to the rest of the world,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton explained that the chamber’s new office may also impact the local tourism industry. He noted that visitors are coming into the chamber with a slew of questions on what there is to do in Ashe County and where they can stay while vacationing in the High Country.

“These are people who are coming in to look at brochures and finding out what there is to do in the area. Some of these people want to know where they can go to find a good meal or where they can stay. They want to know where the state parks are or where they can go to find a good jam session. They all have different questions that are being answered when they come here,” Hamilton explained.

Hamilton stressed the importance of the chamber’s role in advancing and promoting the local tourism industry. He believes that attracting visitors from other parts of the state and the region is one of the keys to the area’s economic recovery.

“Tourism in Ashe County is becoming one of the driving forces for whatever the economic turnaround is going to become. Tourists, because of the recession, seem to be taking trips shorter in duration and closer to home,” he said.

Another reason for the chamber’s recent surge in popularity may rest at the foot of the mountain at the Northwest NC Visitor’s Center in North Wilkesboro. Since that center opened in October, officials have seen a spike in the ACC numbers. Administrative Assistant Kathleen George noted that the chamber has taken nine boxes (that contained a total of 115 copies of the Ashe County Visitor and Business Guide) to the visitor’s center since it opened.

“People are looking for that (the visitors guide) and taking it out the door with them. Has it increased the number of people coming to Ashe County and the chamber? It has too,” Hamilton said.

Because of the Chamber’s new found exposure, Hamilton has been contacted by “a couple” of parties who are interested in becoming chamber members because “they wanted to take advantage of the foot traffic coming in here.

“If there ever was a time to become a chamber member now is it,” Hamilton said.

For more information on how to become a Chamber member or for general inquiries, please call (336) 846-9550 or visit www.ashechamber.com.