Tour Smokies grows into Tour Tennessee.
Last year U S Tours and Smoky Mountain Resorts married efforts and created “TourSmokies.com.” According to Pete Smith, “the birth was successful, the formative first year as a local receptive just flew by and today we are proud to announce that our little company has grown into “Tour Tennessee.”
As a Statewide Receptive Operator Tour Tennessee will serve the group tour market with the products that Tour Smokies sold last year and will add many new itineraries that were already being sold on U S Tours website. Together we launched a new site with group tour itineraries from The Mountains to the Mississippi River, featuring the best of Chattanooga, Nashville and Memphis.
Bob Cline, President of U S Tours said, “We’ve been talking about this since last winter, the first year profits from Tour Smokies was a real surprise and we felt this was a natural expansion. We already have the production and operation staff in place, so with a few modest little twists to our marketing we’ve created a larger business without any capital investment.”
Cline said, “I’m not much of a salesman myself but I do so enjoy watching them work. Pamela Huey and Pete Smith are all over this and Steve Ellis is like a gopher in soft dirt digging up new opportunities. They have just finished training on the Special Events and themed itineraries that U S Tours has loaded onto the Tour Tennessee webpage and ready to start providing new products to old customers.
A few of the new Special Events available are Blue Christmas when U S Tours rents Graceland every December for a Holiday Tour. The National Quartet Convention (Spring & Fall) and Gaylord’s Country Christmas in Nashville.
There are also quite a number of innovative itineraries and themed tours visiting multiple cities such as “The Big Bang of Country Music,” “American Recording Studios,” “The History of Country Music,” “The Birth of Rock & Roll,” “The MoJo Tour” combining Memphis & New Orleans, and several more.
According to Pete Smith, “we did a few things with our marketing partners here in the mountains that worked well for all of us. We were able to share several initiatives that allowed all of us to focus our dollars and efforts toward the same projects – that focus not only yielded bigger results, it collectively reduced our costs.”
“I hope we can bring these partnership concepts to our friends across the State and achieve some of the same success we had here in the Smokies. We were not aware of the Coronavirus when we started this and we had never heard of an economic shutdown, but now that we are in the middle of it. We think that partnership initiatives can help the entire State return to normal. We have to restart businesses and get our industry back to work. But we are also optimistically planning for growth.”
Alabama Tourist Attractions Reopens Amid Pandemic
“As our state works to readjust to the rapidly evolving changes in our lives, we understand reopening needs to be done cautiously by adhering to CDC and health guidelines
Birmingham Area Attractions
(Updated 7/17/20)
Current Operating Status – OPENED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure https://www.alabamasplash.com/
Aldridge Gardens www.aldridgegardens.com
Autobahn Indoor Speedway www.autobahnspeed.com/locations/birmingham-al-indoor-go-karts/
Ave Maria Grotto www.avemariagrotto.com
Barber Motorsports Museum www.barbermuseum.org
Bessemer Hall of History Museum www.bessemerhallofhistory.org
Birmingham Botanical Gardens https://www.bbgardens.org/
Birmingham Zoo www.birminghamzoo.com
DeSoto Caverns https://www.desotocavernspark.com
Hear of Dixie Railroad Museum www.hodrrm.org
Market at Pepper Place www.pepperplacemarket.com
McWane Science Center www.mcwane.org
Railroad Park http://www.railroadpark.org
Red Mountain Park www.redmountainpark.org
Ruffner Mountain Park https://ruffnermountain.org/
TopGolf https://topgolf.com/us/birmingham
The Pixel Room www.thepixelroombham.com
Vulcan Park & Museum https://visitvulcan.com/explore/covid-19-update/
Birmingham Area Attractions (Updated 7/17/20)
Current Operating Status – CLOSED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame Museum https://jazzhall.com
Alabama Sports Hall of Fame www.ashof.org
American Village www.americanvillage.org
Arlington Antebellum Home https://www.arlingtonantebellumhomeandgardens.com/
Bethel Baptist Church www.bethelcollegeville.org
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute www.bcri.org
Birmingham Holocaust Education Center bhecinfo.org
Birmingham Museum of Art www.artsbma.org
EWTN pilgrimage groups, tours, and live show audiences are cancelled until Sept. 1st. No new pilgrimage groups will be scheduled for the remainder of the year. www.ewtn.com
International Motorsports Hall of Fame www.motorsportshalloffame.com
Negro Southern League Museum birminghamnslm.org
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church www.16thstreetbaptist.org
Sloss Furnaces https://www.slossfurnaces.com/
Southern Museum of Flight http://www.southernmuseumofflight.org
Huntsville Area Attractions (Updated 7/17/20)
Current Operating Status – OPENED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
U.S. Space & Rocket Center museum is open with social distancing modifications and pre-purchased, timed tickets are required. Space Camp has also resumed operations.
The Alabama Constitution Hall Historic Park & Museum and the Historic Huntsville Depot properties are now open with revised hours. Pre-purchased, timed tickets are required.
The Early Works Children’s Museum is open withsocial distancing modifications. Pre-purchased, timed tickets are required.
The Huntsville Museum of Art is open with social distancing modifications.
The special tours and experiences of Touronimo are accepting small groups.
Huntsville Botanical Garden is open with social distancing modifications.
Pre-purchased, timed tickets are required.
Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment is open with social distancing modifications.
Burritt on the Mountain is open with social distancing modifications.
The Weeden House is open for tours with social distancing modifications.
Stovehouse is reopen with modifications.
Stars and Strikes is open with social distancing modification.
Rocket City Arcade is open with social distancing modifications.
Shenanigans Comedy Theatre is open with social distancing modifications.
Cathedral Caverns State Park has started tours with social distancing modifications
All Huntsville City recreation centers are open along with playgrounds, splash pads and pools.
All branches of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library are offering curbside service.
Huntsville Stand Up Live is open with social distancing modifications.
The Huntsville Havoc office is open in limited fashion inside the Von Braun Center.
The 2020 City Lights and Stars concert series at Burritt on the Mountain will proceed with new health and safety measures in place.
Current Operating Status – CLOSED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
Several concerts and events scheduled to take place at the Von Braun Center have been cancelled or postponed. Visit the Von Braun Center’s website for more details.
The U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum is temporarily closed.
Fantasy Playhouse Children’s Theatre will not be presenting any in-person shows, camps, or classes through the end of 2020.
The Thursday night Biergarten at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center has been postponed until further notice.
This year’s Arts Huntsville Concerts in the Park series has been cancelled.
Spring/summer Concerts on the Dock at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment have been cancelled.
Various shows in the Tangled String Concert Series are cancelled or postponed.
The 2020 Maple Hill Cemetery Stroll has been cancelled.
The 2020 Madison Street Festival has been cancelled.
The Zimsculpt exhibit at the Huntsville Botanical Garden has been postponed until further notice.
The Land Trust of North Alabama Concerts at Three Caves concert series schedule has been revised for 2020.
2020 Hamfest has been cancelled.
This year’s Microwave Dave Day has been postponed. An alternative virtual event will take place on June 28 on the Microwave Dave YouTube channel.
This year’s Taste of Huntsville has been cancelled and will resume in 2021.
The Tennessee Valley Jazz Society’s Jazz-N-June on the Mountain has been postponed until 2021.
The 2020 Tennessee Valley Hunting and Fishing Expo has been postponed. A new date is to be announced.
The next Downtown Huntsville’s Women in Music Weekend will take place March 2021.
The 2020 SMD Symposium will be a virtual-only event, starting August 4.
Montgomery Area Attractions
(Updated 7/17/20)
Current Operating Status – OPENED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
Alabama Safari Park – Open from 9-4
Civil Axe Throwing – OPEN – masks recommended
Escapology – OPEN Thurs – Sun 2pm – 8:30pm. Masks Required. COVID-19 protocol will be provided during reservation
EJI Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice – Open M-F, 9am – 5pm, FREE of charge through December
F. Scott Fitzgerald Museum – OPENING Thursday, June 18, 10am to 2:30pm Thursday – Sat. The Airbnb Suites are currently available for booking.
The Department of Archives and History – Limited open beginning June 2nd for onsite access to the EBSCO Research Room by appointment.
Hanks Williams Museum – Open
Kick Back Ranch & Event Center – OPEN – Normal Hours – Pool, game room, fitness center and The Hitching Post only open to on-site residents.
Montgomery Zoo – OPEN. Visit their website HERE for details on updated operations.
The MOOseum – OPEN 8-3:30 closed for lunch 12-1 Groups 10 or less with temperature taken upon entrance
Old Alabama Town – OPEN
Rosa Parks – OPEN – 9 to 5 M-F. Face cover required. Groups no larger than 8.
W. A. Gayle Planetarium – OPEN for public shows Monday – Thursday @9:30 AM, 1:00 PM and 4:00 PM, Friday @ 9:30 AM (Face masks required for admission)
Windcreek Casino in Montgomery – OPEN
Montgomery Area Attractions (Updated 7/17/20)
Current Operating Status – CLOSED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
The Montgomery Visitor Center – closed until further notice.
Alabama Judicial Building – closed for tours
Alabama Shakespeare Festival – all shows are cancelled or postponed until further notice.
The Alabama State Capitol – closed
The Biscuit Basket at Riverwalk Stadium – closed until further notice
Biscuits Baseball – season cancelled
The Civil Rights Memorial/Visitor Center – closed until further notice
Dexter Avenue Baptist Church – closed until further notice
The First White House of the Confederacy – closed until further notice
The Freedom Rides Museum – closed until further notice
The Harriott 2 Riverboat – closed until further notice
Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Tours – closed until further notice
MLK Parsonage and Visitor Center – closed until further notice
Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts – closed until further notice
Montgomery Performing Arts Center – closed until further notice
Shoals Area Attractions
(Updated 7/17/20)
Current Operating Status – OPENED
For COVID-19 update-hours of operation logon to website
FAME Recording Studio is open Mon through Fri, two tours each day, 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., and they are open from 10 a.m. .until 2 p.m. for tours on the hour. THESE ARE THEIR NORMAL HOURS.
Cypress Moon Studios are open for tours, Mon through Sat, 10 a.m. until 3 p.m., NORMAL HOURS.
Ivy Green, Home of Helen Keller, is open for tours Regular hours, 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., Mon – Saturday
Ala Music Hall of Fame is open for tours, Regular hours, 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., Tues – Saturday
Belle Mont Mansion is open for tours, Regular Hours, 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Wed. – Saturday
Coon Dog Cemetery is open daylight hours, every day (Regular hours)
Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve is open Fri, Sat, Sun and all Federal holidays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., Normal Hours
Current Operating Status – CLOSED
Muscle Shoals Sound, 3614 Jackson Highway, Sheffield, AL is closed from June 21 through July 31.
The Tennessee Valley Museum of Art has closed again.