OCONEE COUNTY — Oconee County has named the first director of its new convention and tourism bureau at the same time that state figures show an increase in tourist dollars spent in the county.

Ken Sloan, owner of Jocassee Outdoor Center near Salem for the last five years and the Carolina Boat Club for the last three, will be the director of the Oconee County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Jim Gadd, executive director of Oconee Alliance, on Thursday.

The Oconee Alliance, a public/private partnership to promote Oconee County, will have oversight of the bureau. The Oconee County Council agreed in February to spend $480,000 over the next three years to fund the bureau that Sloan will oversee.

In Sloan’s business, according to Gadd, he has developed experience attracting tourists to the Oconee area as well as developed many contacts with tourism professionals throughout South Carolina.

The Houston native has roots in the Upstate and moved to Oconee County more than five years ago after a career that included corporate technology management.

Since developing his businesses on Lake Jocassee, Sloan has developed strategic partnerships with local recreation and tourism businesses and also served on the Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau steering committee, according to Oconee Alliance officials.

“These experiences should serve Mr. Sloan well as he leads this CVB start-up,” said Alan Blackmon, chairman of the Oconee Alliance.

Sloan will begin work on Sept. 8, Gadd said.

Sloan’s appointment comes at a time when the 2007 South Carolina Economic Impact of Domestic Travel compiled by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism show tourist spending in Oconee County is on the increase.

County officials say it all bodes well for the county’s plans to better exploit its attractions to draw more tourists.

“In 2007, our tourism expenditures are listed as $46.99 million, up from $43.55 million in 2006, a $3.44 million or 7.9 percent increase in tourism spending compared to 2006,” said Phil Shirley, county director of parks, recreation and tourism.

The report shows tourism in Oconee County employs 450 people, with a $7.7 million annual payroll, and generates $2.69 million per year in local tax revenue. All those statistics, Shirley said, show increases in line with the increased tourist spending.

“Only Abbeville, Charleston and Union counties had a higher percentage increase than Oconee,” he said.