NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A 7-year-old from Pulaski, Tennessee, dressed up as a Nashville "Woo Girl" for tacky tourist day as debate continues for how to regulate tourism in Nashville.
"It was tacky tourist day and we had to pick, like a tacky tourist," explained 7-year-old Natalie Kilpatric. "I didn't want to wear sandals with socks. So, I dressed up as a Nashville ‘Woo Girl.’"
The 2nd grader who wore a veil, Nashville sash and cowboy boots stated what her definition of a "Woo Girl" was, "They're people who when they hear something or see something that's their favorite, they go, ‘Woo!’"
For Kilpatric, the boots were especially tacky since she's growing up in a rural area where she wears her boots to herd cattle and ride horses.
For more than 20 years, the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp has advertised the city of Nashville to other U.S. cities.
"Our goal is to bring people in to spend the night in Davidson County to stay in the hotels here, and to spend money throughout the city, they go shopping, they go dining, they go to the attractions and our job is to bring them here... to showcase the best of Nashville," the nonprofit's Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Deana Ivey explained.
She said when they promote the city, the goal is to give potential visitors a taste of all the creativity happening in Nashville.
"We promote the neighborhoods, we promote the chef driven restaurants, the local restaurants, all the shopping scene, I mean there's so much here that we, we have pride in," she said.
As Ivey explained, "Woo Girls" make up very few of Nashville's annual visitors, "Our market is, is broken up by 40% leisure, 40% convention travel, and the rest is business travel... less than 1% is bachelorettes, but that's what people see... less than 1% of 16 million."
"Broadway is great, but it's for certain people that absolutely love it. But then, [if] people are looking for something different, there's so much more here, and we want them to know about that," said Ivey. "We do everything we can to promote the entire city, and all the great offerings that are here. It's not just about coming here to party to go to bars, it's you know it's about the great restaurants and the great makers that are here, putting out products that you can't find anywhere else."
The nonprofit markets Nashville through commercials and other mediums, right now focusing on Chicago, L.A. and New York.
"We don't want to get away from what we're known for. We don't want to get away from ‘this is the place where the music is created. It's written here, and the, the true soul of this city is the music,'" said Ivey, "We haven't changed our message, we never have."
