Days after her death, Dolly Parton isn’t being remembered as only a country music star but also as businesswoman and mogul in the US travel and tourism industry.
More than half of the singer’s estimated $US400 million to $US650 million ($625 million to $900 million) personal net worth was directly tied to her 50 per cent equity stake in her tourism and hospitality businesses.
Dolly Parton wasn’t just a country music star, she was a mogul in the US travel in tourism industry. Getty
The Jolene singer, who died on August 25 in Nashville, started her venture into tourism in 1977. She purchased a small, unassuming theme park in the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee, in a joint partnership with Herschend Family Enterprises.
They first named it Silver Dollar City before renaming it Dollywood in 1986.
At the time, East Tennessee was the opposite of a tourist hotspot, with critics saying the theme park wouldn’t work.
However, within one year of the name change, the park marked a 75 per cent increase in attendance, welcoming over one million guests through its gates.
Today, the park spans 165 acres and offers more than 50 rides and attractions, with more than three million visitors every year.
In 2021, the singer announced a multi-million dollar expansion plan for the park, which included the 302-room HeartSong Lodge & Resort and the Big Bear Mountain roller coaster.
The hotel and roller coaster were both completed before her death.
Dollywood also includes the original theme park, Splash Country water park, the DreamMore Resort and Spa, Dollywood cabins and campgrounds, and several theatres.
The singer announced a multi-million dollar expansion plan for the park in 2021, which included the 302-room HeartSong Lodge & Resort Dollywood/Herschend Family Enterprises
The resort features stunning lodge decor. Dollywood/Herschend Family Enterprises
The DreamMore Resort and Spa spans 20-acres and 299 guest rooms.
The park and its surrounding hotels and attractions are worth an estimated $US330 to $US500 million ($495 million to $750 million).
Parton started building her most anticipated tourism project, the SongTeller Hotel in downtown Nashville, in 2023.
The hotel, which is due to open in September 2026, is already taking bookings at $US390 a night.
“All my life, I’ve been a SongTeller. And there’s no better place to write a song than Nashville,” a message from Parton reads on the hotel’s website.
“SongTeller Hotel is my love letter to the city. It’s a place where musicians and guests will come together to experience Music City’s inspiring spirit.”
Half of Parton’s net worth came from her tourism ventures. Getty Images
The DreamMore Resort and Spa spans 20-acres and 299 guest rooms. Dollywood/Herschend Family Enterprises
“From intimate venues to eclectic, yet sophisticated rooms and suites, I’ve poured my heart into this new song, and I’m dedicating it to you, Nashville.”
The hotel will also feature an entire floor dedicated to a museum of Parton’s life.
The total enterprise valuation for Dollywood (including the surrounding resorts) and the Nashville hotel sits between US$1.35 billion and $1.75 billion ($2.1 billion and $2.8 billion).
Dolly Parton’s SongTeller Hotel is due to open in downtown Nashville in September. Getty
Her empire doesn’t stop there. She opened Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Shop in Cornersville, Tennessee, in June 2026.
The truck shop is a unique rest stop that includes petrol pumps, electric vehicle charging stations, Dolly-themed merch, food, drinks and parking.