The North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Annual United Kingdom Press Trip visited Ashe County and downtown West Jefferson Thursday to help promote the Blue Ridge Parkway’s upcoming 75th anniversary as well as some other local travel destinations. Public Relations Director Wit Tuttell of the department’s Division of Tourism, Film, and Sports Development explained that the purpose of the trip was to allow visiting writers from the United Kingdom the opportunity to visit the state’s northern mountains and write editorial pieces on their encounters of the area for their respective regional and national newspapers overseas. These articles, Tuttell explained, would essentially serve as free advertisement in overseas newspapers that would entice international tourists to visit the region thus bringing economic development to the area. “Basically it’s a cheap way to get advertisement about North Carolina in the international market,” Tuttle said. “It’s also a way to help bring British visitors to the region. International tourists stay longer and spend more money when they do come to the area so it’s important to get that advertisement out there.” The visiting writing series touches a different corner of the state each year as way to bring economic develop to those respective regions. Last year, the press trip visited the Great Smoky Mountains for the national park’s 75th anniversary. In past excursions, foreign writers from the UK, Germany, and Canada, have toured the heart of NASCAR country in the central and southern piedmont. The press trip has also chartered the natural beauty of Ocracoke Island and the Outer Banks to complement their Appalachian journeys. On Thursday, the group of professional writers toured Ashe County extensively, making pit stops at the Ashe County Cheese Plant, Blue Ridge Parkway, ‘Tis The Season, Mountain Outfitters, and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Beaver Creek to see the now world renowned Ben Long frescoes. The posse of European essayists also found their way to the New River waterside for an afternoon canoeing before continuing their tour of the High Country in Boone, Blowing Rock, Asheville, and Yancey and Mitchell counties. These professional writers are usually in high demand for their journalistic prowess which is why it is important for division officials to develop an interesting “news hook” in order to persuade oversea papers to allow them to visit, Tuttle explained. He said the writers typically receive offers to visit Africa and other exotic tourist destinations. Each visiting writer specializes in a different subject. One wordsmith composes features pertaining to weddings and honeymoons while another visiting writer captures the attention of children across the United Kingdom through his short pieces in the National Geographic for Kids magazine. Although the writers have traveled extensively throughout the world and have studied various cultures and geographic regions, Tuttle explained that they have become enchanted with the High Country’s natural beauty. “They really enjoyed and were especially surprised by the scenery of the area,” Tuttle explained. “Most of our mountains are bigger than anything they have seen in the UK so it was sort of a shock to them” The visiting writers were also charmed by the county’s southern hospitality. “One of the biggest compliments we have gotten is how friendly the people are here and that’s really important to the area’s tourism industry,” Tuttle said. “One of our writers liked the area so much that he picked up a real estate magazine for home listings before leaving.” For more information on the N.C. Department of Commerce’s other tourism promotion programs and state travel information, please visit www.nccommerce.com www.visitnc.com.