By WILL PERKINS
Glasgow News 1
There’s one name synonymous with Cave City tourism — Jennifer McNett.
As the director of the Cave City Tourist and Convention Commission, she oversees the Cave Area Conference Center and all things related to tourism.
In addition to helping local attractions and businesses garner visitors, McNett also collaborates with movie producers and directors to bring film projects to the area.
The tourism director’s efforts are being recognized in Millennium magazine’s 22nd edition, and her face appears on the cover.
“I am honored and humbled at the opportunity to be featured in Millennium magazine and be able to share my experiences with Cave City Tourism,” McNett said in a press release. “The chance to be on the cover is indescribable and great exposure for our town.”
McNett is the vice president of the Southern Kentucky Film Commission and she “played a pivotal role in transforming a neglected attraction into a movie set,” according to the press release.
This effort led to the filming of two movies, including “Gunslingers” starring Nicolas Cage, at the former Guntown Mountain. That location was also used in a music video for Ella Langley and Riley Green’s song “You Look Like You Love Me.”
The Kentucky Travel Industry Association noticed these achievements and gave the tourism leader the Most Innovative Award in 2024.
She also serves on the executive board of the Caveland Marketing Association and is a member of the Cave City Chamber of Commerce.
McNett finds a way to help visitors even when some of the area’s biggest attractions are unavailable.
For instance, when a government shutdown closes Mammoth Cave National Park, she sets up shop in front of the shuttered visitor’s center, informing tourists of the closures, directing them to all of the other activities still available in the area.
Regardless of what she’s already accomplished, McNett said she remains focused on growing area tourism.
