West Virginia's governor launches new tourism campaign countering Appalachian hillbilly stereotypes

March 17, 11:41 AMSeattle North American Travel ExaminerStephanie Jolly

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Scenic river in Fayetteville, West Virginia lures outdoor rafting enthusiasts
Photo: Kyle Kesselring

Plagued by the widely publicized 'hillbilly' image, as in recent ABC documentary "Hidden America: Children of the Mountains," West Virginian governor Joe Manchin III has authorized a multimillion dollar marketing campagin aimed at restoring the state's reputation.

West Virginian tourism campagin attacts visitors with new slogan and spokesperson

After changing interstate welcome signs with the old slogan "Wild and Wonderful" to an interim tagline "Open for Business," designed to promote the state's low unemployement rates and spur economic development, the signs along highways leading into the Mountain State were once again changed earlier this year to "Wild, Wonderful West Virginia" to reflect the results of an online poll of West Virginian citizens.

Also part of the tourism redevelopment project, the West Virginia Department of Commerce conducted a state-wide search for its new "Come Home to West Virginia" spokesperson.  On March 10, 2009, corporate and finance laywer Amy King, of Charleston, WV, was selected to represent the face of West Virginia's demographic to the rest of the country.  Ms. King, with her professional education and career, sparkling white smile and excellent articlulation, is the polar opposite of the toothless, uneducated slack-jawed persona perpetuated in popular media.

Washington residents will find abundance of outdoor recreation activities in mountains of West Virginia

Visitors from the Pacific region, including Seattle and Washington state, comprise only 3% of out-of-state visitors to West Virginia each year, but given the propensity northwesterners have for outdoor recreation and natural splendor, I would have expected this number to be significantly higher. 

Of the activities visitors to the state engage in, visiting national and state parks, hiking/backpacking and camping rank among the top ten.  When I was an undergrad in nearby Lexington, KY, West Virginia was a popular weekend destination for whitewater kayaking along the rivers of Appalachia.  West Virginia also hosts a section of the scenic Appalachian National Scenic Trail, a popular backpacking trek, which runs over 2,000 miles along the ridgelines of the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine.