In an effort to learn more about attractions and places of interest throughout the state, Virginia Welcome Center employees are touring the Commonwealth.

Last week, 31 of them stayed in Carroll County as guests of Blue Ridge Highlands FAM, learning all about the area’s scenic beauty, historic sites and other points of interest to better serve visitors to Virginia.

“When we do this, and they see everything we have in this area; most of them have never been here before,” said Carroll County Tourism Director Donnie Turner. “They don’t know all of the tourist attractions we have here; all the outdoor recreation we have; all the shopping we have; all the music we have. If we can inform them, when people say they’re going to go to the Blue Ridge Parkway, they can say they have the perfect place for them.”

Virginia Welcome Center Operations Manager Sandra Hicks said the drive behind the tours is to give the employees more information, which they can then pass on to visitors.

“We take staff from all over the state and educate them so they can learn about the different attractions in the different regions in the state,” Hicks said, noting the groups visit local attractions, stay in local hotels and eat in local restaurants. “When they get questions from visitors coming through, they can talk about it with much more enthusiasm. This is the best way to learn and experience it like a tourist would.”

On Tuesday, the group arrived in Hillsville and visited the Historic Downtown before making stops at Foster Falls and Westwind Winery.

Fancy Gap was the destination on Wednesday, which included visits to local businesses before a jaunt on the Blue Ridge Parkway to Mabry Mill. Later, the group visited Kanawha Valley Arena, Olde Mill Resort, Maples Restaurant and Foggy Ridge Cider.

On Thursday, the group visited Woodlawn and Galax, stopping at Harmon’s, The Front Porch Gallery and The Heritage Shoppe in the morning, the Rex Theatre, the Blue Ridge Music Center and Davis Bourne Inn in the afternoon and evening before departing on Friday.

“We’re going to show them a good time and show them everything we have here,” Turner said on Tuesday in Hillsville.

And with the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway in September and Carroll playing a key role in the celebration, Turner felt the need to introduce Welcome Center employees to the county.

“If they want to see the mountains and the rivers and the Parkway, they need to be in the center of it,” Turner said. “We’re going to be the center of the celebration for the 75th anniversary. As a matter of fact, we’re going to be the home place for it. We wanted to get the Welcome Center staff here to let them know what else is in the area so people can stay longer when they visit.”