May 15--ASHEBORO -- Plans by Gov. Pat McCrory's administration to eliminate many functions of the state Department of Commerce could have serious ramifications for tourism in the state.

Tammy O'Kelley, Randolph County Tourism Development Authority (TDA) president, updated the board about the implications at Wednesday's board meeting. The meeting was held at the N.C. Zoo where, prior to the meeting, board members were treated to a tour of the newly opened polar bear exhibit, the new dinosaur exhibit and a visit with the new gorilla babies and parents right at feeding time.

O'Kelley was recently appointed to the state Travel and Tourism Board. She reported to the board following her first meeting. McCrory has announced plans to privatize the Department of Commerce's economic development and marketing functions, to include tourism, film and sports development promotion, through the creation of the N.C. Partnership for Prosperity.

Implementation is expected to take place as early as Jan. 1, 2014, O'Kelley said. Commerce Secretary Sharon Decker has said many details of the nonprofit won't be worked out until June. Bill Elmore, vice chairman of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated, has volunteered to lead the restructuring.

McCrory said in April the state has too many voices speaking on behalf of commerce that confuse customers. O'Kelley said she and other board members understand the advantages of privatization but she worries that tourism will be lost in the mix.

"This will significantly redefine state-level destination marketing to attract visitors and could also affect the cooperative marketing programs that the county has come to rely on," she said in her report.

O'Kelley pointed out that visitors to North Carolina's tourist attractions spent $19 billion in 2011 and generated $2.9 billion in federal, state and local government dollars. She said 196,100 people work in the tourism industry in the state.

"Without these jobs generated by domestic and international travel, North Carolina's 2011 unemployment rate of 10.2 percent would have been 14.5 percent of the labor force," she said.

She said, in a sense, the tourism sector has been too successful in promoting the message to government figures that tourism can be viewed as economic development. If leaders take the message to the extreme, support for the tourism industry could be lost as industrial and commercial projects take up much of the available funding.

O'Kelley is especially worried about the availability of marketing dollars. She said Randolph TDA and other such organizations often partner with the state Division of Tourism to contract advertising in larger publications in and outside the state in what are called marketing co-ops.

"There is no way we could afford that kind of advertising if state funding goes away," she said.

For the moment, tourism advocates have nothing to base a reaction on. O'Kelley said the hope is that, whatever happens with the Department of Commerce, the Division of Tourism will be able to retain control of existing resources and the authority over branding for the state. She told board members she will keep them apprised of developments.

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