By Taylor Frost |

FLOYD COUNTY, Ky. (WYMT) – Now that summer is right around the corner, many tourists will venture to the mountains for vacation.

“We’ve already had three motor coach groups that have come through the area already for the spring, which is good for us,” Mitchell Pearson, executive director of tourism for Prestonsburg, said.

Pearson shared that making adventure tourism a priority is helping the city of Prestonsburg.

“It’s about bringing people in, promoting the positivity we have and the natural beauty of Prestonsburg, Floyd County and Eastern Kentucky as well,” Pearson said.

In a recent study, prepared for the Kentucky Tourism Arts and Heritage Cabinet by Certec stated that $78 million dollars was spent by tourists in Floyd County in 2016.

Several people in the community have noticed an increase in tourists traveling through.

Floyd County resident, Brody Mullins, spends a couple of days each week at Jenny Wiley State Park. He said he meets many people from out of state.

“I came the first day of summer break and there were a few new people here,” Mullins said. “And then I come today and there are a lot of people. People from New York and New Jersey, places like that.”

Prestonsburg mayor, Les Stapleton, said a new swimming pool, zip line and other outdoor activities are in the works.

“We have people coming and riding our trails, horseback, bicycles, hiking, people enjoying our lake, our river,” Stapleton said. “We got a lot of stuff going on in Prestonsburg; you have to pay attention if you want to keep up with us.”

According to Stapleton, many of the projects, including the swimming pool, should be completed by next spring.