ATLANTA – Governor Brian Kemp has allocated $5.8 million in federal coronavirus relief funds to boost tourism in the state. The governor says the funds will help Georgia’s travel and hospitality industry compete in a highly competitive marketing landscape.
He says the funds will “ensure visitors and Georgia residents alike have the Peach State on their mind for their next destination.”
Kemp shared the news with tourism industry professionals from across the state at the annual Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference this week at Lake Lanier. During the three-day event presented by Explore Georgia, Kemp applauded the industry’s success and recognized the impact of travel and tourism on the state.
“I’m incredibly proud of the resilience of our tourism industry. While we still have a long way to go to full recovery, the fact that Georgia’s tourism industry saw gains during such a difficult year is astonishing and I am committed to ensuring we maintain this positive momentum,” he said.
Losses and gains
While Georgia did experience pandemic-related losses in travel spending and tourism jobs, visitation in 2020 nearly matched the record number of travelers in 2019, the governor’s office says. Domestic overnight and day trips to and within Georgia totaled 151.8 million visits, helping mitigate lost visitation from meetings, conventions, and international markets.
Georgia gained significant market share nationally, rising from number 7 in 2019 to number 5 in 2020 among all 50 states for overnight visitation. Those visitors supported more than 410,000 jobs across the state and created a total economic impact of $53.72 billion in 2020.
Explore Georgia’s Explore Georgia from Home campaign, which ran during the height of the pandemic in 2020, recently won a top award from the U.S. Travel Association.
Explore Georgia is the tourism arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and runs the state’s travel website, ExploreGeeorgia.org. The site has recorded 15 consecutive months of record-breaking traffic, with more than 11 million visits from July 2020 to June of this year.
“We’re not immune to the challenges faced by destinations across the globe, but we have been successful in maximizing the travel business that does exist and leveraging it to grow Georgia’s share of domestic travel and economic position,” said Georgia’s deputy tourism commissioner Mark Jaronski.
During this week’s conference, Kemp also announced a new slate of appointments to the Georgia Tourism Foundation Board of Directors.
GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson said the additional funding and new board are “optimistic signs” that point to a tourism industry well-positioned for future success.
