Leon Downey

Leon Downey, executive director of the Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, is returning after 38 years in the role. Since 1988, Downey has guided efforts to grow the city into one of the most popular tourism destination in the nation and has welcomed numerous attractions, providing the city with more than $2 billion in gross revenue in the past five years. Downey has a total of 43 years in the tourism industry, and before coming to Pigeon Forge served as executive director of the Oak Ridge Convention and Visitors Bureau, tourism development manager for the Knoxville Convention and Visitors Bureau,  and marketing manager for the Blount County Chamber of Commerce and Smoky Mountains Visitors Bureau. He is also the past chairman of the Southeast Tourism Society, Smoky Mountain Tourism Development Council and the Better Business Bureau of Greater East Tennessee. A veteran of the U.S. Army, Downey holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.