Spring is bringing groups of tourists and travel writers to sample the attractions of Washington and Wilkes County, Tourism Director Ashley Barnett said.

“Washington is so beautiful in the spring,” she said, “and visitors are always so amazed at the homes and our downtown and what a quaint and graceful town we have.

“We have a Familiarization Tour for travel writers coming Wednesday,” she said. The Clarks Hill Partnership will be hosting seven travel writers from different magazines and free lance writers. “We’re so excited that we have been chosen as a destination for group tours. They came and scouted Washington- Wilkes last summer and chose us as a place to go. The stories they write can reach and attract thousands of potential tourists to come here.”

The travel writers will be shopping and strolling around The Square, and will see the Robert Toombs House, the Washington Historical Museum, and the Fitzpatrick Hotel, and having dinner, she said.

But that’s just the start. On Saturday, March 20, a Model T Ford Club from South Carolina will be visiting, parking their antique cars from 1-3 p.m. around The Square, Barnett said, and on Thursday, March 25, Miss Fanny’s Tours will host a tour bus full of visitors to shop and see the sights.

The following Tuesday, March 30, Washington will host some 20 to 25 visitors from the MEAG Conference at The Ritz-Carlton in Greensboro. “They will be here for two hours and we are so excited that MEAG chose Washington for the third year in a row.”

The annual Spring Tour of Homes, as always, will bring visitors by the hundreds on the first weekend in April. Then, on Friday, April 16, a group tour from Atlanta will bring more than 80 people to Washington for an all-day visit that includes visits to historical sites, a city tour, shopping on The Square, and dining at the Fitzpatrick Hotel.

The return of large numbers of tourists in the spring is vitally important to one of the few growing industries in the county. “The state’s latest figures indicate that tourism in Wilkes County carries a $2.3 million annual payroll,” Barnett said. “Tourists mean jobs and paychecks for local people, so we welcome them with open arms.”