KFJX-TV reports on the grand opening of the new Route 66 Visitors Welcome Center in Carterville, Mo.
The building, in an old gas station, contains a souvenir shop, Wi-Fi Internet access and other amenities for those traveling on the Mother Road. The building also serves as Rod Harsh’s office for his video production business and Visit66.com site.
Harsh says studies indicate more than half of the people traveling Route 66 are from foreign countries, and he says this means cash for Carterville and Southwest Missouri.
“Route 66 tourism is now being recognized by communities that promote it as being important to the economy,” Harsh says. “You’re not going to get huge crowds, but you get people that want to stay at local hotels and eat when they travel.”