Nov. 14- Patrick County Chamber of Commerce releases a Fall Tourism Report for Patrick County.

Press Release Tourism Report – Patrick County, VA-Fall 2011 Issued by: Patrick County Chamber Of Commerce Date: 11/14/11 The Fall Tourism season in Patrick County, VA has been a busy time with many festivals and celebrations, emphasizing our fruit harvests, our farm markets and agri-tourism events. We have celebrated the following major events: • Ararat Civil War Reenactment • Meadows of Dan Pancake Festival • Woolwine Fall Festival • Stuart Apple Dumpling Festival • Patrick County Agricultural Fair The fall colors have been spectacular this year on the mountains and hills showing the extreme colors of red, yellow, orange and brown, which is a major attraction to our tourists. I believe this makes October our biggest month as far as Tourists. For the months of Sept. and Oct. we have had visits from 44 States. The month of October statistics show twice as many visitors as any other month in the year. Our Chamber operated Visitor Centers have been very active in giving out travel literature of maps, travel guides, County brochures, and rack cards on our attractions. The Chamber is a source of tourism literature to our local businesses and attractions. Patrick County is blessed with traditional music programs, scenic mountain vistas, friendly down home people, parks and recreation, and enticing local businesses that keep the visitors coming. The leading countries visiting us are: 1. Ontario, CN, 2. England, and 3. Quebec, CN For September and October this year, we have the following states showing high volume of visits. (In ranked order): 1. VA 2. NC 3. GA – they have moved up from 8th or 9th. 4. TN 5. FL 6. OH 7. PA (These are the most significant states coming to see us). The tourism industry is extremely important to our small rural county, providing an important addition to our industrial economy. We are thankful for all our businesses, churches and civic club volunteers who keep the celebrations and festivals going, which bring in important tourism traffic to our community. By Tom Bishop, Executive Director Patrick County Chamber of Commerce