{"id":872022,"date":"2026-08-28T23:42:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872022\/"},"modified":"2026-08-28T23:42:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T23:42:17","slug":"inside-dolly-patrons-2-billion-tourism-and-hospitality-empire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/872022\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Dolly Patron\u2019s $2 billion tourism and hospitality empire"},"content":{"rendered":"

Days after her death, Dolly Parton<\/a> isn\u2019t being remembered as only a country music star but also as businesswoman and mogul in the US travel and tourism industry<\/a>. <\/p>\n

More than half of the singer\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton wasn\u2019t just a country music star, she was a mogul in the US travel in tourism industry. \u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

They first named it Silver Dollar City before renaming it Dollywood<\/a> in 1986. <\/p>\n

At the time, East Tennessee was the opposite of a tourist hotspot, with critics saying the theme park wouldn\u2019t work. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Today, the park spans 165 acres and offers more than 50 rides and attractions, with more than three million visitors every year. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The hotel and roller coaster were both completed before her death.<\/p>\n

Dollywood also includes the original theme park, Splash Country water park, the DreamMore Resort and Spa, Dollywood cabins and campgrounds, and several theatres. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The singer announced a multi-million dollar expansion plan for the park in 2021, which included the 302-room HeartSong Lodge & Resort\u00a0Dollywood\/Herschend Family Enterprises<\/p>\n

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The resort features stunning lodge decor. \u00a0Dollywood\/Herschend Family Enterprises<\/p>\n

The DreamMore Resort and Spa spans 20-acres and 299 guest rooms. <\/p>\n

The park and its surrounding hotels and attractions are worth an estimated $US330 to $US500 million ($495 million to $750 million). <\/p>\n

Parton started building her most anticipated tourism project, the SongTeller Hotel in downtown Nashville, in 2023. <\/p>\n

The hotel, which is due to open in September 2026, is already taking bookings at $US390 a night. <\/p>\n

\u201cAll my life, I\u2019ve been a SongTeller. And there\u2019s no better place to write a song than Nashville,\u201d a message from Parton reads on the hotel\u2019s website. <\/p>\n

\u201cSongTeller Hotel is my love letter to the city. It\u2019s a place where musicians and guests will come together to experience Music City\u2019s inspiring spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Half of Parton\u2019s net worth came from her tourism ventures. \u00a0Getty Images<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The DreamMore Resort and Spa spans 20-acres and 299 guest rooms.\u00a0Dollywood\/Herschend Family Enterprises<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom intimate venues to eclectic, yet sophisticated rooms and suites, I\u2019ve poured my heart into this new song, and I\u2019m dedicating it to you, Nashville.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hotel will also feature an entire floor dedicated to a museum of Parton\u2019s life. <\/p>\n

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). <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dolly Parton\u2019s SongTeller Hotel is due to open in downtown Nashville in September. \u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Her empire doesn\u2019t stop there. She opened Dolly\u2019s Tennessean Travel Shop in Cornersville, Tennessee, in June 2026.<\/p>\n

The truck shop is a unique rest stop that includes petrol pumps, electric vehicle charging stations, Dolly-themed merch, food, drinks and parking. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Days after her death, Dolly Parton isn\u2019t being remembered as only a country music star but also as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134],"class_list":["post-872022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}