There's a lot to cheer about when it comes to tourism in Alabama. Generating $9.3 billion for the state last year alone, efforts are now underway to help west Alabama get a bigger piece of the pie.

As part of the 25th anniversary for the Welcome Center in Cuba, tourism officials from around the state came together to discuss this issue Wednesday.

"We have to look at this and forget about divided lines," said Sen. Bobby Singleton, chairman of the Alabama Senate Tourism Committee. "This area is so rich in terms of history and we must share that together in terms of state to state and county to county."

Efforts are already underway to promote the area along the state line as a regional area for development. In fact, next month a newly formed group known as WAEM, which is short for West Alabama and East Mississippi is going to hold its first meeting. Its mission is to promote development in the area."

This push to boost tourism is part of the collaborative effort between Mississippi and Alabama to spark development overall. Officials say tourism in the Black Belt could increase as people stay closer to home to avoid buying more gas.

"Most people are going two to three days, maybe a long weekend of 4 days, and they want to see something within a 5 hour drive of their home," said Linda Vice of Southwest Alabama Rural Tourism. "So, we have a huge drive market with the cities."

As for the area's biggest assets, most tourism officials agree that it's west Alabama's natural and historic sites. With interests increasing in these areas, they say it means more money as well.

"It can bring dollars from people who come and stay in the hotels, coming through to stop at the restaurants," said Rep. A.J. McCampbell, a member of the Alabama House Tourism Committee.