Williamson Convention and Visitors Bureau

    The Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau is a non-profit organization charged with increasing visits to Williamson County and fostering the tourism industry.
    The county, which is located just south of Metro Nashville-Davidson County, is rich in tourist attractions, including some associated with the Battleof Franklin, a major Civil War engagement, such as the Carter House. The county also boasts the historic downtown district of Franklin, the county seat, as well as outdoors attractions, such as the Natchez Trace Parkway. Visitors put more than $233 million in the county's economy each year, according to the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
    The bureau reorganized in 2007, establishing itself as an independent non-profit. In 2008, it brought on a new executive director, Mark Shore, who held a similar post in Charlottesville, Va.
       The bureau announced a new marketing plan in August 2008 that included sprucing up the Visitors Center on Main Street, making grants to tourism-related businesses to help them with new marketing plans, revamping its Web site and conducting a market research study to determine who visits the county and why.