By WILL PERKINS
Glasgow News 1
As the shutdown of the federal government continues, representatives of area tourism commissions have been helping visitors at Mammoth Cave National Park find alternative ways to spend their time and money in Barren and surrounding counties.
Many tourists who have shown up for cave tours were not aware of the shutdown and park closure, said MacLean Lessenberry, executive director of the Glasgow-Barren County tourism commission.
“I’d say 85 percent of people that have shown up for their cave tour don’t know the government shut down,” Lessenberry said at the commission’s October meeting. “We’ve had a lot of people that seem thrilled to go to our other attractions.
“I know all of the privately owned caves have been slammed.”
Lessenberry said they had been meeting visitors out front of the Mammoth Cave Park visitor center, but they’ve been able to move their booth inside since it has opened due to funding from ExplorUS, which is paying for a couple rangers to staff the visitor center and gift shop.
“You can’t buy tickets,” Lessenberry said. “There’s not a whole lot of information, but there are rangers in there — one or two — who can at least point you to the right trails or things like that.”
Commissioners asked if the visitor center would remain open, but Lessenberry said she wasn’t sure and thinks the funding is “day-to-day.”
So while uninformed visitors may be disappointed to find out their cave tours are canceled, tourism representatives can offer them a stack of brochures about area attractions to visit during their stay.
“We’re dealing with it in the middle of a really busy season,” Lessenberry said. “So it’s been as good as it can be.”
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