Lawmakers in Tennessee have introduced the Tennessee Adventure Tourism and Rural Development Act of 2011 to encourage the development of adventure tourism in rural areas suffering high unemployment.
Amendments offered on the bill would allow local outfitters to petition local officials to create special adventure tourism districts that could offer tax credits of $4,500 a year for each qualified job. Adventure tourism businesses could use that credit for up to three years to offset state franchise and excise taxes.
Adventure tourism” is defined as outdoor recreational opportunities such as equine and motorized trail riding, white-water rafting and kayaking, rappelling, rock climbing, hang-gliding, shooting sports, spelunking and other such activities.
The bill calls on the Department of Tourist Development to identify suitable geographic regions by Feb. 1 2012.
The department must identify the appropriate types of recreational activities suitable for each region and recommend rules and regulations to apply within appropriately designated adventure tourism districts. A municipality may then, by a two-thirds vote, create an adventure tourism district.
