Nashville’s tourism industry could soon look quite different thanks to a newly proposed plan from the city’s tourism leaders.

“The Music City Strategic Plan,” released on Thursday and co-chaired by Deana Ivey of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. and Colin Reed of Ryman Hospitality Properties, outlines industry changes, improvements and other recommendations that aim to successfully spearhead Nashville as an industry leader in the upcoming years.

For example, the report proposes relocating two of the city’s biggest annual attractions, the “Let Freedom Sing! Music City July 4th” and “Nashville’s Big Bash New Year’s Eve” to the East Bank, the future home of the new and improved Nissan Stadium. Other proposed relocations include the Live on the Green music festival, the Nashville Hot Chicken Festival and Oktoberfest. Additionally, the city is eyeing hosting the Grammy Awards and a Super Bowl.

According to the report, the number of visitors in Davidson County has grown steadily in recent years. In 2018, 12,603,962 people visited the area. In 2023, that figure increased by nearly 3 million. But while the city has reaped the cultural and financial benefits of hundreds of thousands of tourists descending upon the city annually, Nashville and its locals have also had to deal with accompanying crime and safety concerns.

“We have a great destination, but we also need to take care of it,” said Deana Ivey, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp. “And we want to make sure that growth continues. The plan is our roadmap to tell us what we need to take care of.”

Here are the plan’s eight priorities.

Improving the experience and reputation of Downtown Nashville

The report pinpoints overconsumption, overcrowding, and noise pollution as a threat to Nashville’s reputation as a “warm, welcoming city.” Recent efforts to mitigate the concerns include improving Downtown lighting, installing surveillance cameras, implementing a rigorous cleaning schedule and more.

Ongoing efforts include:

• Refining the right-of-way vending ordinance to improve the pedestrian experience on the street.

• Advocating for a dedicated noise enforcement unit to ensure compliance with existing noise ordinances for buildings, vehicles, and vendors on private property.

• Activating Downtown Parks in a way that best serves residents and guests with a focus on local engagement.

• Explore implementing a Street Performer Program that permits live music in dedicated areas to enhance the downtown experience.

• Support private initiatives with downtown establishments to improve bar line management, SAFE Bar Program compliance and scooter and e-bike corrals.

Tourism officials also plan to launch a campaign which promotes the “Nashville way” which would call on bars to enforce better protocols, address raucous behaviour, and encourage other actions which would “help fix what is wrong on Lower Broadway.” The campaign targets celebrities with namesake bars as potential partners.

Improving and supporting public safety efforts citywide

Public safety remains the top priority for visitors, read the report. In an effort to prioritize safety and reduce crime, tourism officials proposed allocating local and state resources to the following:

• Increasing the number of MNPD public safety officers.

• Increasing MNPD wages to national levels.

• Curbing disorder Downtown.

• Supporting MNPD in their efforts to reduce gun thefts from vehicles.

• Foster community partnerships with MNPD.

Developing a robust pipeline of job seekers and pushing for transportation improvements

While Nashville’s hospitality industry has grown alongside the city, hospitality workers, like most Nashvillians, deal with a lack of affordable housing and public transportation.

Industry leaders plan to address challenges with a three part strategy which includes supporting hospitality workforce development, making affordable housing more available to hospitality workers and increasing the offerings, reach and appeal of public transportation.

Leaders aim to accomplish their goals by standardizing high school hospitality program curricula across Nashville, engaging local college and university hospitality programs to recruit employees and offer on-the-job training opportunities, supporting affordable housing and transportation access on the East Bank, increasing the number of public transportation stops and locations, exploring rideshare and shuttle options and more.

Fostering increased, local support for Nashville’s tourism industry

Hospitality is the second largest industry in Nashville and Tennessee, directly employing over 70,000 people. The report states that despite benefits, the industry has had to bear the brunt of many resident’s frustrations with the challenges that come along with growth.

Tourism officials propose a campaign highlighting the positive impacts of the industry which would hopefully alleviate those frustrations. Goals of the campaign include broadening the core message of the benefits of tourism, emphasizing personal and emotional connections to hospitality, ensuring messages reach broad and diverse audiences, enlisting diverse communicators to deliver said messages, and communicating across multiple platforms.

A focus on international tourism

More than a national destination, Music City has become an international destination, welcoming visitors from almost every corner of the globe. Tourism leaders aim to make Nashville a more welcoming, inclusive environment by marketing to international visitors and creating a better overall experience.

Officials aim to reach said goals by nurturing relationships with Nashville’s sister cities and consulates, increasing direct airlift to and from Nashville International Airport, working together with the Tennessee Department of Tourism, partnering with popular travel apps, providing free Wi-Fi connectivity citywide and more.

Embracing family-friendly programming at the city’s newest venues

While Lower Broadway may not be the most family friendly setting after-hours and on weekends, Nashville offers plenty of other family-friendly outings and venues. The East Bank, currently under redevelopment, plans to be a tremendous cultural center and will host multiple events suited for people of all ages.

Tourism officials plan on focusing on the following when evaluating potential new events:

• Creating large, family-friendly outdoor spaces for local and national events.

• Attracting world-class, family-friendly, diverse, and locally appealing events.

• Maximizing the riverfront’s potential to offer residents and tourists new recreational opportunities.

• Working with state and local governments to achieve goals.

Marketing Nashville’s diverse cultural offerings and developing new cultural assets

Tourism officials recognize that not all Nashville communities have benefited equally from the city’s immense growth. In the report, industry leaders vowed to promote broader community participation while expanding offerings to attract diverse visitors and benefit underrepresented communities.

Focus areas include expanding Nashville’s offerings to include more diverse music and entertainment events, increasing promotion and mentorship for minority-owned businesses as well as branding and promoting Nashville’s culturally diverse communities.

Hospitality leaders to work with Metro and state

Finally, tourism leaders plan to work together with city and state officials to drive meaningful change in a variety of areas, for example economic development and legislative priorities.

By establishing the Music City Local Host Committee, hospitality leaders aim to demonstrate their value to the city. The committee will have the responsibility of attracting major events and raising the funding for the new Nissan Stadium and will also serve as a body of economic counselors to city and state leaders in evaluating critical new development projects or legislative priorities.

Committee leaders include former Governor Bill Haslam, country music artist Eric Church, Chairman of Ingram Industries John Ingram, and others.

Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Highlights: How new Nashville tourism plan could change Lower Broadway