Tourism in review [May 2004]

Tourism

May '04 in review . . .

Volume 27 May

Governor Perdue announces $25 billion tourism expenditure growth in 2003 and signed House Bills 1181 and 1415 into law.
Janis Cannon announced results of the new TIA study at "Stay and See Georgia"

NATIONAL TOURISM WEEK - (MAY 8-16)
National Tourism Week, a time to celebrate and showcase Georgia's second largest industry, brought a host of activities at Visitor Information Centers throughout the state and major announcements from Governor Sonny Perdue that has a positive impact on Georgia's tourism industry.
Governor Sonny Perdue proudly announced in May that Georgia's tourism expenditures grew to $25 billion in 2003, by attracting 48 million visitors and making Georgia the seventh most visited state in the nation. The Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism's (GDITT) newly released economic impact report, conducted by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), measured impact on Georgia from January to December 2003. New figures show Georgia's tourism industry directly supported $6 billion in resident wages, generated 209,500 tourism-related jobs, and created more than $708.5 million in state tax revenue.
"I am thrilled to see an increase in Georgia's tourism numbers and our continued rise on the list of the most-visited states in the U.S.," said Governor Sonny Perdue. "As we work to strengthen our public and private sector partnerships and showcase Georgia's unique tourism destinations, we will see the industry's economic impact continue to grow."
At the May 14 Georgia Hospitality and Travel Association's "2004 Stay and See Georgia" annual travel show, GDITT Deputy Commissioner of Tourism Janis Cannon discussed the newly released TIA Georgia economic impact figures and updated industry partners and visitors about the status of tourism in the state. "Stay and See Georgia" is the state's largest travel show highlighting destinations and attractions around Georgia and showcasing their vacation and travel products and services at the Mall of Georgia in Buford.
Other positive tourism announcements include: Governor Perdue signing into law House Bill 1181, which authorized Georgia's Fiscal Year 2005 Budget and helped secure an additional one million dollars for GDITT to use for tourism advertising & promotion. Thanks goes out to all state legislators for their support of Tourism and for providing funds to help promote Georgia as the top travel destination in the Southeast.
Governor Perdue also signed House Bill 1415 into law on May 13, which reforms the Hotel/Motel Tax Reform Bill. According to Dan Rowe, Georgia Tourism Alliance, "Among other items, this reform establishes a Performance Review Panel that will help insure that the hotel/motel taxes collected in the state are used in accordance with the intent of the law. This legislation has been the result of a collaborative effort between many industry partners, including the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association, and tourism advocates within the General Assembly."

Tourism

May '04 in review . . .

Volume 27 May

Kingsland VIC West Point VIC
VIC Tour on Stone Mountain's new duck ride.

VICS
A host of activities took place at Georgia's 11 Visitor Information Centers (VICS) during National Tourism Week (NTW). The West Point Center celebrated with food and activities including a proclamation by the mayor. Also in conjunction with NTW the Kingsland center held their Georgia On My Mind day on May 14. The community response was tremendous, with 43 booths and displays and approximately 75 representatives from hotel properties, coastal attractions, the US Department of the Navy and Coast Guard, plus city, county and state officials. Live broadcasts from a local radio stations brought in the crowds.
Note: Renovation to the Kingsland and Savannah Center restrooms are complete and re-opened May 28.
As part of the VIC specialist continuing education program, representatives from the State's centers participated in an educational tour of Atlanta May 18-20, which was sponsored by Christopher Huber, President and CEO of MapSouth. Several associates gathered information about tourist attractions around the metro Atlanta area, such as, the new duck ride at Stone Mountain Park, "Chihuly in the Gardens" at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, the Atlanta Zoo, CNN Tour, and the High Museum, featuring the exhibits African Gold and Ancient Egypt. The VIC associates also gathered information to pass on to visitors about Lombardi's at Underground Atlanta, Ruth's Chris at Centennial Park, The Sundial, Mary Mac's, and other fine restaurants in the Atlanta metro area.

SALES

GDITT's domestic sales team is creating a "Georgia Resource Kit" to be used as a direct mail piece for tour operators bringing group travel to Georgia. The idea for the resource kit is to provide "one-stop shopping." Each time the tour operator thinks of Georgia, they have all the information they need in one resource. Tourism entities throughout the state have submitted profiles that are included in the kit at no cost to them, and the tourism division is supplying additional travel planning information for reference.

"Georgia Resource Kit" information.

Additional sales efforts are being conducted on the domestic front through a monthly poster campaign to AAA offices and tour operators. The two initial mailings resulted in fulfillment numbers of over 3,288 GOMM Travel Guides, and 1,555 requests for information from specific regions throughout the state. To view the posters, go to www.MarketGeorgia.org and click on "Sales."

Tourism

May '04 in review . . .

Volume 27 May

Information requests for Georgia destinations have increased at several AAA locations. In response, GDITT's sales team plans a series of sales missions to specific areas where the demand is the greatest. Visits are being scheduled for the AAA headquarter offices in the Mid-Atlantic region, AAA Auto Club South region, AAA Carolina's area, as well as, following the route west along I-20. Representatives in the tourism regions and the official trails of the state will be asked to participate in the sales missions. Please look for upcoming information.
A "Student Travel Planners FAM Tour" is being planned for July in the Atlanta Metro area. According to Sales manager Laurie Rowe, "Student travel is growing by leaps and bounds in the U.S. Tour companies that traditionally work the senior market are adding this segment to their product line and we need to keep them updated and excited about what Georgia has to offer."

Laurie Rowe

RESEARCH
According to the latest Smith Travel Research Standard Historical TREND Report, Georgia hotel revenues are up 8% for the first four months of 2004 over 2003. This equals an increase of $62 million in revenues. All travel regions reported an increase of at least 4% with Southern Rivers and Georgia Coast regions showing the highest increases of 9.5% and 11%.
For just the month of April, statewide Georgia hotel revenues were up 15% over April of 2003. This equals an increase of $30 million in revenues. The Atlanta Metro region showed the highest increase at 20%, with the coastal region showing the second highest increase with 12%.

29 communities eligible for $500,000 funding.
18, Tier 1 & 2 counties.
$106,609,366
ECONOMIC IMPACT !

The 2004-2005 Tourism Marketing Co-Op Program awards have been announced. Out of the 61 applications received, 29 are eligible for $500,000 in funding by GDITT. Out of the 29 communities that will receive funding, 18 of them are in Tier 1 and 2 counties. The local marketing programs, which total $2.1 million, are projected to bring in 316,131 overnight visitors and 3.7 million local citizens representing an estimated $106,609,366 in economic impact for Georgia.

Tourism

May '04 in review . . .

Volume 27 May

PUBLIC RELATIONS
Georgia Tourism made national and local news in May thanks to media coverage about the G-8 Summit on Sea Island and tourism public relation efforts. A few stories included:
The Washington Post (May 23, 2004) "Georgia Golf: Marsh Madness; Tough Tees on St. Simons Island" by Steve Hendrix
Henry Herald (FL), News-Daily.com (May 21, 2004) "Summer break: Where to go, what to do" by Greg Gelpi
Atlanta Business Chronicle, (May 19, 2004) "Survey: Tourism grows, Ga. the 7th-most visited state
Savannah Morning News (May 20, 2004) "Georgia's bright spot" by Walter C. Jones
Duluth Weekly (May 20, 2004) "Georgia Welcomes Growing Number of Visitors G8 to Showcase World Class Destinations"
The June issue of Conde Nast Traveler lists the Lodge at Sea Island, the Cloister and the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation as the eighth, 17th and 26th top golf resorts in North America and the Caribbean. "The spirit of the south rising" reports on courses in Texas, West Virginia and Georgia all ranking in the top 20.

On May 16-18, Deputy Commissioner of Tourism Janis Cannon, Media Relations Manager Trish Croll and Manning Selvage and Lee representative Lindsay Petitt traveled to New York to pitch "What's New in 2004-2005" destination stories to 13 national consumer travel publications. The delegation spoke with editors from Bride's; Forbes; Cargo; Conde Nast Traveler; Arthur Frommer's Budget Travel; Town & Country Travel; Museums for Families; Child; Parents; Saveur; Jane; National Geographic Adventure; Country Living; and Modern Bride.

Tourism

May '04 in review . . .

Volume 27 May

INTERNATIONAL
Pow Wow, a well established trade show for international tour wholesalers and operators, was held in Los Angeles California in May where Georgia representatives held over 40 appointments with international tour operators and media. Georgia shared a booth with Katie Baasen, Brunswick and the Golden Isles CVB and Andy Uhlig, Savannah Area CVB. Georgia has been the featured "Destination of the Year" in 2004 for FTI Touristik out of Munich Germany. This ongoing program (see FAM below) has resulted in a 129% increase in FTI business for Georgia, with a 112% increase in Atlanta visitation and a 360% increase in business for Savannah.

Prior to the upcoming Sea Island Summit, Georgia Tourism hosted six travel writers from the UK to tour the Georgia Coast and help them learn more about it as a tourism destination. The writers came from various publications including daily newspapers and tourism trade publications. During their exploration of the coast, the writers visited Savannah, Tybee Island, Sea Island, St. Simons Island, Little St. Simons Island, Jekyll Island and Darien. The group was especially impressed with the natural beauty of the Georgia coast and the diversity in tourism experiences available. Bob Harris and GDITT UK Tourism Representative Anne Young accompanied the group while on the coast.

GDITT also hosted a FTI Touristik (Munich, Germany) educational familiarization (FAM) tour for a group of 11 FTI top producing Travel Agents and one representative from the Delta Airlines sales office in Munich, Germany. The event was part of the FTI Destination of the Year program in Germany and is designed to increase awareness of Georgia as a destination. Bob Harris and Nija Vereen from the Tourism division accompanied the group.

A second group of German travel writers and one escort from FTI Touristik, Munich, Germany took Atlanta and Savannah by storm in May. The group of 7 writers selected by FTI as part of their Georgia Destination of the Year program was on a mission to see a real peach tree in a city filled with streets with Peachtree in the name. The mission was accomplished in the back of Mary Macs Restaurant, where the writers insisted on having their picture taken in front of the tree. The owner promised to post the pictures on the wall if they sent him a copy. The international journalists cover a wide variety of stories for daily newspapers in Germany and it was interesting to see their perspective and enjoyment of Georgia history, food, and entertainment.

Tourism

May '04 in review . . .

Volume 27 May

G-8
Preparation for the G-8 Summit on Sea Island is in full swing. Collateral materials, FAMS, email blasts, and committee meetings between coordinators on Sea Island, Brunswick and the Golden Isles, Savannah, Atlanta and the federal government are nearly complete. Over 3,000 credentialed media are expected to cover the summit and a primary goal of the Georgia Tourism division is to give them up to date information about all the wonderful tourist destinations around the state.

Sea Island

CONGRATS!
GDITT's Marketing Research Manager Nicole Lamkin has been elected President of the Southeastern Chapter of the Travel and Tourism Research Association. The chapter has also been nominated as "Chapter of the Year" due to the new and continued involvement with Southeast Tourism Society. TTRA is responsible for facilitating access to numerous sources of information to support research efforts; educating members in research; and promoting the development and application of professional research in the travel and tourism industry. The Southeast States Chapter of TTRA is comprised of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

Nicole Lamkin

REGIONAL UPDATE
For information about what is happening in Georgia Tourism's Nine Travel Regions go to: http://www.georgia.org/tourism/market_ga/media/regional_ updates.asp

MOVING REMINDER
Please note that effective July 1, GDITT is changing its name and location to Midtown Atlanta. The new name and address will be: Georgia Department of Economic Development, Tourism Division 75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 1200 Atlanta, GA 30308
New phone and fax numbers will be assigned soon. Email addresses will not change.