Georgia tourism monthly e-newsletter, Aug. 2010

August 2010 Issue
In This Issue:
GDECD PRESS RELEASE: JOBS AND INVESTMENT IN GEORGIA INCREASE IN 2010 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT 2011 GEORGIA TRAVEL GUIDE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES FINAL COUNTDOWN TO THE 2010 GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM GEORGIA SET TO HOST TRAVEL SOUTH 2011: REGISTRATION OPENS SEPTEMBER 1 GDEcD MARKETING GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR THE STATE'S NINE MARKETING TRAVEL REGIONS GDEcD CO-OP ADVERTISING PROGRAM GDEcD SALES TEAM UPDATE INDUSTRY NEWS: ATLANTA CVB INCREASES BOOKINGS FOR 2011 INDUSTRY NEWS: SPANISH HOTEL GIANT LANDS IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA INDUSTRY NEWS: TOURISM AGENCY RENAMED 'VISIT SAVANNAH' INDUSTRY NEWS: FOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY, THINGS ARE LOOKING UP TRAVEL NEWS: WEBSITE AIMED AT HOMETOWN TOURISTS

........................................................................................................................................................................ GDECD PRESS RELEASE: JOBS AND INVESTMENT IN GEORGIA INCREASE IN 2010
Governor Sonny Perdue announced on August 12 that both jobs and corporate investment increased in Georgia during the state's fiscal year 2010 as a result of the marketing activities of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). As the fifth largest employer in the state, the travel industry plays a vital role within the state of Georgia. In 2009, tourism generated 212,200 jobs and $1.36 billion in state and local tax revenue. The state attracted 689,000 international visitors, nine percent more than the previous year and in contrast to a national decline of six percent, ranking Georgia second in the nation in international visitor growth. At the close of the fiscal year 2010, hotel/motel occupancy in Georgia was up 4.2 percent from the year before, room revenues were up 4.3 percent, and room demand was up 7.6 percent. Georgia's 11 visitor information centers registered 10.96 million visitors in FY10 and made more than 28,000 room reservations resulting in hotel/motel revenues of $1.98 million. The state's consumer travel web site, ExploreGeorgia.org, experienced a record traffic month in June 2010, recording 132,561 visits; 116,417 unique visitors; and 786,300 page views. For the complete press release, click here.
............................................................................................................................................ 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT 2011 GEORGIA TRAVEL GUIDE ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES
1. The advertising rates in the 2011 Georgia Travel Guide have been DECREASED by an average of 12% over last previous year's rates while the circulation of the 2011 Guide will remain at 750,000.
2. The Georgia Travel Guide has the largest circulation and most affordable advertising rates of any state travel guide in the southeastern U.S.
3. All advertisers in the 2011 Georgia Travel Guide will be eligible to receive reader response leads generated from print, fax and online leads from visitors requesting more information. The online reader service component will be the most effective, efficient and instantaneous for the advertiser ensuring interested parties receive advertiser's information quickly. All advertisers will receive their leads via email and will be provided with a password to log into the lead system at any point. Demos of this new system will take place at the Governor's Conference.
4. The 2011 Georgia Travel Guide will be fully digitized and be iPad and iPhone compatible. The digital version will live on www.exploregeorgia.org and www.atlantamagazine.com for an entire year extending the reach of all advertisers to potentially tens of thousands of additional impressions. All advertisers in the print edition of the Travel Guide will have their ads included in the digital edition at no additional cost. All web links in print will be "live" in the digital edition.
5. Atlanta Magazine is expanding the annual Best of Atlanta Party (produced for the past 24 years) to include the Best of Georgia Travel. All full page advertisers will be provided with a complimentary display at the 2011 Best of Georgia Travel event in which to showcase their region, their food and their attractions. This annual event is attended by nearly 3,000 affluent readers of Atlanta Magazine and is a benefit for Camp Twin Lakes. This is a value of $5,000 for the full page advertiser in the Travel Guide. Contact Jill Teter at jill-teter@comcast.net or toll free # is 877-554-0780.

............................................................................................................................................ FINAL COUNTDOWN TO THE 2010 GOVERNOR'S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM
The 2010 Governor's Conference on Tourism will take place in Athens from August 30 - September 1. The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (GACVB) and the Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia (TDAG) have once again joined forces to present one unified tourism industry conference. On-site registration is available throughout the conference. For more information, click here.
........................................................................................................................................ GEORGIA SET TO HOST TRAVEL SOUTH 2011: REGISTRATION OPENS SEPTEMBER 1
Make plans now to attend the 29th Annual Travel South Showcase in Atlanta, Georgia, February 22 - 24, 2011. Showcase is the only regional tourism marketplace for the southern USA and the state of Georgia along with hundreds of tourism partners have begun planning to host over 600 tour operators, journalists and southern suppliers. Online registration begins September 1, so don't delay. For more information, visit www.TravelSouthUSA.org/showcase11 or contact Rob Nolen at 404-231-1790.
............................................................................................................................................ GDEcD MARKETING GRANTS AVAILABLE FOR THE STATE'S NINE MARKETING TRAVEL REGIONST
GDEcD will allocate $25,000 to each Travel Region for advertising in print and online advertising using the "Georgia check list" ads. In addition, each region will have the opportunity to participate in the campaign at a higher level. For every $1.00 a region agrees to contribute to this co-op, GDEcD would allocate an additional $2.00 with a cap of $25,000 raised by a region (and an additional $50,000 matched by the state). At its maximum, this would raise a total of $100,000 for a region in advertising creation and placements (the initial $25,000 state contribution + $25,000 raised by the region - which is matched by an additional $50,000 from the state). For more information, click here.
............................................................................................................................................ GDEcD CO-OP ADVERTISING PROGRAM
GDEcD will negotiate special rates on behalf of our partners including individual attractions, CVBs, Chambers of Commerce, and etc. There is no match for this program, only the special rates. These co-op options will be rolled out at the Governor's Conference and the vendors will be available in the conference marketplace to discuss their offers with CVBs, attractions and other partners who would like to buy in to the program. For more information, click here.

.................................................................................................................... GDEcD SALES TEAM UPDATE
Joseph Walker, Director of Business Development, recently visited Georgia's Coast, Cleveland and Columbus to review cultural products for European travelers. GDEcD was also invited by the Atlanta CVB to meet and greet a Brazilian group of Delta representatives who were here on a FAM trip.
Pam Kruseck and Alphonso Murchison have attended ten Atlanta Dream games as part of the tourism division's consumer outreach program in order to encourage locals to travel within Georgia. GDEcD also partnered with Babyland General (and Dream Cabbage Patch Kid Brittainey Angel) to promote travel opportunities within our state.
Maggie Potter will be attending the Student & Youth Travel Association (SYTA) Annual Meeting in Sacramento, CA from August 27 30. The SYTA Conference is the premier event for the student and youth travel market. It serves as the essential marketplace and networking event for the industry. GDEcD will be participating in pre-scheduled appointments with tour operators who specialize in the student market.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau (ACVB), Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) and the Omni Hotel at CNN Center joined together to serve as official hosts for the 2011 Travel South Showcase. Nearly 700 tourism professionals are expected in Georgia from February 22-24, 2011. For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Brittney Gray via email at bgray@georgia.org.
Katie Baasen resigned from her position as Senior Sales Manager for the tourism division on Tuesday, August 17. Please contact Joseph Walker, Director of Business Development, at jwalker@georgia.org in regards to group travel inquiries. Brittney Gray, Atlanta Metro Travel Representative, will be the GDEcD interim contact for the upcoming Travel South event. She is available via email at bgray@georgia. org.
**Show schedule subject to change**
............................................................................................................................................ INDUSTRY NEWS: ATLANTA CVB INCREASES BOOKINGS FOR 2011
At the beginning of the year, officials at the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau were concerned that 2011 might fall short of their goals for bringing convention attendees to the city. But at the end of June, officials had erased a deficit of 150,000 room nights - out of a target of nearly 1.1 million room nights - and they expect to erase the shortfall entirely by the end of this year. For the complete Atlanta Business Chronicle article, click here.

............................................................................................................................................ INDUSTRY NEWS: SPANISH HOTEL GIANT LANDS IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA
A Spanish hospitality firm that is a major player in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean plans to put its first U.S. flag in Atlanta. Sol Meli Hotels & Resorts will take over the management and flag of the 502-room Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown. For the complete Atlanta Business Chronicle article, click here.
............................................................................................................................................ INDUSTRY NEWS: TOURISM AGENCY RENAMED 'VISIT SAVANNAH'
What do the letters C-V-B stand for? If you're like the majority of people questioned in an informal man-on-the-street survey conducted by the Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, you might think it's a drug store, a bank or - worse yet - a communicable disease. The old-fashioned CVB is now the hipper Visit Savannah. For the complete Savannah Morning News article, click here.
............................................................................................................................................ INDUSTRY NEWS: FOR TRAVEL INDUSTRY, THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
There are clear signs that the business-travel industry, which drives the fortunes of a large segment of the economy including airlines and hotels, is gradually coming back. For the complete New York Times article, click here.
............................................................................................................................................ TRAVEL NEWS: WEBSITE AIMED AT HOMETOWN TOURISTS
Most people in any city tend to wait until they have visitors from out of town to see the tourist attractions in their own locale, said Karen Ballard, who stays on top of such things for the Idaho Tourism Division. They've started a website, A Day's Outing, to help hometown tourists see the attractions nearby. The site, at www.adaysouting.com, allows you to put in your zip code or location and request suggestions for quick trips within a certain radius - say, 30 to 120 miles. For the complete Atlanta Journal Constitution article, click here.

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