Foreigners have Native affinity

Native culture attracts visitors from abroad"Some days you hardly hear any English at the village," said Mary Jane Ferguson, director of marketing and promotion for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. "We clearly know--and research has told us--that international visitors have a real affinity for Native American culture."

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported that while high gas prices and a slowing economy are crimping travel plans for many Americans, more overseas visitors seem to be taking advantage of a weak dollar to visit Western North Carolina, ancestral home to the Cherokee.

In 2007, North Carolina drew about 358,000 foreign travelers, ranking 15th among all states, according to the latest figures available from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

"The Germans in particular love that authentic American Indian culture," said Wit Tuttell, a spokesman for the N.C. Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. German passengers flying into Charlotte-Douglas International Airport increased 51 percent in 2007 over the previous year.Comment:  For more on the subject, see the Karl May discussion in Adolf Hitler:  A True American.