That Time I Was Bullied On Social Media...

I’ve only been bullied on social media once in my life.  Hopefully it will be the last, but I guess you can never really know.  Last fall, I posted a few videos about Hurricane Helene and what was really going on in our beautiful area of Western North Carolina.  The first one was a safety report.  That one was well received.  The second one was a status report that much of the area damage was localized and that many high tourist areas – like around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park – was thankfully spared and resources were available and tourism was continuing, not to mention much needed.  That one didn’t go over so well.

A capture from one of my (very awkward) social media posts...

Most of the feedback on that one was akin to a head shake or a shame-on-you type thing.  A few were downright personally abusive.  But the overall tone was that it was wrong to try to educate travelers that what they were seeing online and on major news outlets wasn’t true for all of Western North Carolina.  Was there serious damage?  Absolutely.  Were all roads closed to the area?  Absolutely not.  Was everything a tourist might do limited or shut down?  Yes and no on that one.  No, most things were open and abundant.  Yes, they were shut down because the area was like a ghost town due to the social messaging that went out to stay away.  Ultimately, I took that post down.  Not because I didn’t believe what I was saying – that coming to the “green” areas of WNC was safe and encouraged even – but because people just weren’t ready to hear that by staying completely away from Western North Carolina, Helene’s damage to the area would spread deeper and wider than her original hit when she raged through that late September night.

Our Cherokee yurt, standing strong the day after Helene...

After Helene passed through Western North Carolina, I’ve never seen an outpouring of love and real support coming from individuals from all over the world.  Food, supplies, lumber, counseling, housing assistance, fresh water, clothes, support…. you name it – it came in droves.  It was amazing to see.  And as amazing as it was to watch the rebuilding of what had been torn down, there was no doubt that at the same time something else was eroding away.  As the social media messaging of “stay away” kept coming fast and loud, the “please don’t forget about us” call from all the shop owners, restaurants, hotels and adventure outposts echoed further and further away from the ears of those that needed to hear it.  Western North Carolina relies on tourism as its main industry.  Most that deal in tourism were untouched, but the media worked hard to have everyone believe otherwise.  Quite literally, as damaged homes and lives were being rebuilt, businesses and livelihoods that Helene never even touched started being destroyed.

And that's all I meant to say with my post that was so attacked by the masses. Helene's damage was swift and deep, but not as vast as the media led most to believe about Western North Carolina.

Our local tourism boards almost immediately brought in help from experts that lived through the same thing with Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana.  They told a grumbling gathering of tourism professionals that we should expect a 10-15% loss in business revenue as a result of the media coverage of the storm.  So far, they’ve been right.  They told shop owners and restaurateurs to hold on if they could as our state and local governments worked to turn around the image of a devastated area that was pushed into the minds of vacationers who believe they are helping by staying away.  So far, they’ve been right.  Our area is as open and gorgeous as it’s ever been, and we are personally experiencing about a 12% business loss the year after Helene.  I can only imagine the loss experienced by partners all around me that have shut their doors for the season before it’s even begun.

Visitors gathering for a street festival in Sylva...

But today, I noticed a post on social that let me know that it just might be ok to talk about this online.  It was an image of a flooded Asheville, followed by owner after owner, in front of their flood-free and restored shops, cheerfully pleading with visitors to come back.  We’re open and we need you.  We’re here and we want you to come.  We’re waiting for you and we need you to survive.  I even saw our state Representative on Steven Colbert’s show assuring his audience that Western North Carolina is open and very much in need of your visit.  Not in a few years, but right now.  And from someone who’s been here through the whole thing, I can promise you he’s telling the truth.

So, let’s try this again.  Western North Carolina still needs you.  We need you to visit.  We need you to whitewater raft.  To zip.  To sample local breweries.  To shop in all the specialty markets.  We need you to stay the weekend and build fires and share s’mores with your family and friends.  We need you to mountain bike and hike on our trails and to carb up on pasta and chips at our local eateries.  We need you to come back and rediscover Western North Carolina.  And we need you to do it this summer, not in a few years.  You’ve helped us before by listening to the calls to rescue and rebuild.  We’re asking you now to help us again by planning your trip to the most incredible place you could possibly vacation – right here in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. 

Trust me.  You will not be disappointed. 

If you've read this far, we know you're serious about keeping Western North Carolina businesses alive and well. And to thank you for that, we're offering 30% off to anyone willing to come and stay in the Smokies with us at Sky Ridge Yurts. Just use code "BLOG30" when you make any new reservation for a stay with us this year in 2025. So, come rediscover WNC. We're ready for you!