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The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority represents the more than 180 accommodations—from bed and breakfasts, cabins, campgrounds, cottages, country clubs, inns, hotels, lodges, motels, resorts, vacation rentals, and villas—throughout the county and provides annual funding to the Haywood County and Maggie Valley chambers of commerce and for events and festivals. The HCTDA is funded by a 4-percent occupancy tax charged to guests by accommodations. It produces an annual print visitors guide and operates a toll-free hotline to provide tourists with information. The HCTDA developed its first two television commercials in 2007 and has totally revamped its Web site as well. In 2008, the HCTDA, along with its advertising agency, The Tombras Group, won four ADDY Awards from the American Advertising Federation of Knoxville, Tennessee, for their creative marketing efforts in 2007. The HCTDA operates two Visitor Centers—one at exit 31 off Interstate 40 in Canton and the other (which recently underwent a major expansion) at the Balsam rest stop on U.S. 23/74 near the Haywood-Jackson county line—providing travelers with information and pertinent literature. The Haywood County Tourism Development Authority is run by a 15-member board of directors, representing various factions of the local tourism industry.

Haywood County, North Carolina, is 554 scenic square miles of spectacular country, with beautiful mountains and valleys dotting the landscape. Thirteen of its mountain peaks soar to elevations of at least 6,000 feet (more than any east of the Mississippi River), and the county is one of the highest, with a mean elevation of 3,600 feet, east of the Rockies. Notable mountain peaks include Cold Mountain—the basis for the award-winning, best-selling novel by Charles Frazier and the ensuing 2003 major motion picture—at 6,030 feet, Mt. Sterling at 5,836 feet and Richland Balsam at 6,410 feet in elevation. First established in 1808, Haywood County was named for John Haywood, North Carolina treasurer from 1787 to 1827. The county sits at the western edge of the state, with the Blue Ridge Parkway running along its southwestern border. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Pisgah National Forest are located in the northern section of the county. Unlike the other 99 counties in the state, all the water in Haywood County originates in Haywood County, including the Pigeon River. With four distinctive seasons, Haywood County has much to offer year-round. The annual average temperature is 54 degrees; the temperature averages 38 degrees in January and 71 degrees in June. Haywood County averages 47.5 inches of rainfall and 12.2 inches of snowfall each year.

Four towns—Maggie Valley, Waynesville, Canton, and Clyde—are located within the county, which has a population of about 57,000 people. Click here for more information about Haywood County and its towns.