Every June the Country Music Association hosts a big we-love-our fans fest here in Nashville.  It started out as Fan Fair over 30 years ago and now attracts over 160,000 visitors to the city.  In 2008, country music fans came from over 20 countries to enjoy live music and the opportunity to meet some of the biggest stars in the business.

So why doesn't the CMA - and the city of Nashville, for that matter - show some good old Southern hospitality to its foreign guests?

The festival's official website (www.cmafest.com) offers information on foreign travel to Nashville, but there's not a word in any language other than English.  The Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau is proud of the new website launched last year, but it, too, fails the hospitality test (www.visitmusiccity.com).

The NCVB site states that "Tourism is our business - the direct impact of the hospitality industry in Nashville is $3.5 billion annually with over 10 million visitors to Music City every year...Our mission is to grow Nashville's second-largest industry from $3 billion to $5 billion."  Is that growth possible when you ignore foreign tourists?

Foreign tourists spend an average of $4,500 per trip to the U.S., much more than domestic tourists spend per capita.

The Memphis Visitors and Convention Bureau's site offers translations in six languages: English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese, and Japanese.  If a German looks for travel information about Tennessee in her own language, she'll find Memphis first.  And visit Graceland, and pay for a hotel and meals, and buy some souvenirs.  You get the picture.  Foreign tourists will spend their money where they feel most welcome.

So we're asking both the CMA and the city of Nashville to follow the lead of cities who welcome their guests with multilingual maps, brochures, websites and guidebooks.  We need to uphold our reputation as one of America's friendliest cities!

Photo by Brent and MariLynn. Licensed under Creative Commons.

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