Tagged: tourism

Marcheta Sparrow will retire at the end of this month as the Secretary of Tourism, Arts and Heritage. Sparrow was named secretary in 2007 and was one of the original members of Gov. Steve Beshear's cabinet.

In a statement, Beshear praised Sparrow for the recent growth in tourism, which was up 4.4 percent last year.

The secretary oversees many departments in addition to tourism, including parks, fish and wildlife and others related to the humanities.

Beshear says he will name a new secretary soon. 

It's not just Medicaid that's expanding in Kentucky…the Bourbon Trail is growing, too.

When it opens later this year, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience on West Main Street will become the eight stop on the popular tourist attraction. The facility will be a working distillery with additional features to draw more visitors. 

For Louisvillians, the top domestic travel destination next year should be Fairbanks, Alaska, says Lonely Planet, the big travel guide publisher.

For everyone else, go to Louisville.

Lonely Planet cites the food and drink on NuLu, the shopping on Bardstown Road and the gobs and gobs of available bourbon in putting Louisville atop its 2013 list of top U.S. travel destinations. 

The Kentucky Tourism Cabinet has approved tax incentives for the re-opening of the Kentucky Kingdom theme park.