Jan. 26--The big fish and small fry of Tennessee tourism rarely swim together, even though they troll the same waters for customers.

But they came together today at The Peabody to help a statewide committee brainstorm ways to vault a $14 billion a year tourism industry, the country's 17th largest, into the top 10.

"The difference between the 17th and the 10th (largest) is a helluva lot of money, $3 billion, $4 billion, $5 billion in incremental revenue," said committee chairman Colin Reed, president and CEO of Nashville's Gaylord Entertainment. Gaylord runs the Grand Ole Opry and is developing, with Dollywood owners, a snow and water theme park in Nashville.

It's going to take money to make money, leading Reed to describe the Tennessee Tourism Committee's overarching task as finding extra resources to spend on marketing and promotion. The group is due to make a final report back to Gov. Bill Haslam early next year.

While Reed spoke of a need for better global air connections, his small-business counterparts from Memphis had a more modest idea: enhancing Greyhound bus service to shuttle visitors among the state's far-flung attractions.

Lisa Allen, executive director of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, recalled earnest phone calls from foreign tourists trying to get from Nashville to Memphis before museum closing time.

"I see the passion of people wanting to get to what we have," said Allen, who left the meeting encouraged the committee is on the right path. "I have much faith and hope that this group is going to come up with a plan," she said.

The timing couldn't be better. "I think it's important that the President just embraced tourism. It's important on the national level," Allen added.

Reed said a current effort to liberalize visa rules for foreign tourists is overdue. He also said the committee should undertake to convince politicians to demand improved international air service. Memphis has a nonstop to Amsterdam, but Nashville has no direct international service.

Reed said Tennessee attracts nearly 20 percent of travel spending from border states but only 2.4 percent from non-border states and 0.4 percent from international. The international share is declining, "I think because Tennessee is not adequately connected to the rest of the world," he said.

Reed joined tourism Commissioner Susan Whitaker and committee co-chairmen Ted Miller, president of Dolly Parton Productions, and Jack Soden, president of Elvis Presley Enterprises, to conduct the forum.

"This is about us getting the perspective of the entire state, those who are involved in the business from the ground up," said Whitaker.

Participants included advocates of youth sports programs, wedding and romance tourism and cycling and running events. There were also tourism boosters who don't have big attractions to promote.

"The main thing I want to ask is that you don't forget us little guys," said Mary Beth Hopper, executive director of the Jackson-based Southwest Tennessee Tourism Association. "If we didn't get help from Tennessee, we wouldn't be able to do anything."

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