Gatlinburg is easily one of our favorite travel destinations and it is easy to see why. You have the mountains, the people, the town itself and of course all the great attractions which includes the restaurants and hotels. Now, the key thing is with what has been seen as a major shutdown in the region due to the Coronavirus is what is going to be left to do in the city when it reopens? I mean, a lot of the town is run by the smaller businesses that in a lot of regards have been closed due to them being termed non-essential.
Non-Essential Businesses What We Love
Yes, the non-essential businesses are the ones that we love to flock to when we go to Gatlinburg, but even then they could have some problems starting back up. Look at some of the packages that are in place for the small businesses that can help them to a certain extent. However, I can tell you that from working for a small business currently, that those packages do take quite a long time to come through, which makes it very difficult for the small businesses to make it through the tough times.
That leads to the main question as to what we will have available for all of us to enjoy when Gatlinburg does reopen? Personally, I do not know which businesses will be around after the coronavirus pandemic is over with. However, I do know that the reverberations of businesses and travel being effectively shut down will be felt for years to come. That will lead to some of the small businesses that we have come to love in Gatlinburg struggling and potentially having some issues and having to close.
The closure of these businesses can impact anything from the smaller family owned hotels, to the candy stores or tee shirt shops. What else it can impact even if we do not want to admit it is the newer stores that we have been looking at enjoying the thought of them opening or even planning our next trip to see these new stores. Those stores and businesses may struggle quite a bit more than the established locations.
The newer businesses have more overhead and in most cases a larger amount of debt that they took on to buy their supplies, pay for rent for a year, but also for getting the business advertised properly. With that being the case, these businesses may be the ones that may struggle to remain. Depending on the length of time of the pandemic shutdown, though, the older and establishing businesses may start to struggle as well.
Gatlinburg Will Bounce Back
Gatlinburg is a great city and one that will feel the impact of the lack of tourism for years to come. It will have a ripple effect in the economy for years to come. No matter what, though, one thing that a lot of travelers need to remember is that Gatlinburg is going to recover from the Coronavirus pandemic, but it will take time. That is going to lead to people needing to be patient and realizing some of their favorite businesses may not be around when they go to Gatlinburg next time, but also to realize those that are still around will need all of our support to rebuild from the loss of income.
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