‘Oak Ridge is suddenly revealed to a new group’ | ‘Oppenheimer’ movie brings in big tourism

ANDERSON CO., Tenn. (WVLT) - It’s been roughly a year since the critically acclaimed ‘Oppenheimer’ movie was released.

Anderson Co. leaders said the hype around the movie created major interest in the Manhattan Project, resulting in major tourism dollars for the county.

“When people find out that this fantastic and gigantic film with all these great celebrities have roots and realities in this space, it makes it real,” said Matt Mullins with the American Museum of Science & Energy in Oak Ridge.

Mullins said the museum saw a notable increase in tourists from all over the country this year.

“Oak Ridge is suddenly revealed to a new group of people and the tourism dollars are coming into the region,” Mullins said. “We’re getting a boost of that.”

This year, Anderson Co. saw a more than 5% increase in visitor spending, raking in about $190 million.

Tourists come and go, but Stephanie Wells with Adventure Anderson Co. said this is good for your wallet. Visitor spending generated millions in state and local tax revenue. Without it, each household in Anderson Co. would pay nearly $700 more in their taxes.

“Dollars that our visitors leave behind, the gas tax money that they leave behind, all of that goes into our infrastructure. It’s invested into our schools, it’s invested into our emergency services,” Wells said.

The rich history paired with the wide variety of activities in the outdoors is a reason Wells says she thinks the tourism numbers will continue to grow for the county.