Tennessee
Tennessee Aquarium celebrates 30 years, touts $4.9B impact
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — Chattanooga’s Tennessee Aquarium, the town’s greatest vacationer draw, is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary.
When the $45 million privately-funded riverfront attraction opened because the world’s largest freshwater aquarium, backers projected that it might entice about 600,000 guests a yr to an space of city that had been in decline, the Chattanooga Instances Free Press reported.
In its first yr, the aquarium greater than doubled that projection, drawing 1.5 million guests to rapidly emerge because the area’s greatest tourism draw. The aquarium’s success has since spurred the addition of different riverfront sights, eating places, resorts and housing developments. A brand new financial research estimates the aquarium has pumped almost $4.9 billion into Chattanooga’s financial system since 1992.
Barry White, president of the Chattanooga Tourism Co., mentioned the aquarium has helped propel Hamilton’s tourism business and enhance life for native residents.
“The extent of influence the aquarium has on conservation efforts, instructional attain, revitalization of our downtown and ongoing financial influence is unbelievable,” White mentioned in a report on the aquarium’s thirtieth anniversary.