Grow Your Own Tourism in Rural Georgia

Tourism is big business in Georgia.

Tourism is one of the largest industries in Georgia, delivering an annual economic impact of $68.82 billion and employing 484,000. In 2019, Georgia hosted over 152.3 million domestic visitors and 1.4 million international visitors. The impact of tourism is felt not just at Six Flags or the World Congress Center in metro Atlanta. Tourism stretches into the mountains of north Georgia, the pristine coast in southeast Georgia, and the hunting plantations in southwest Georgia.

Many rural communities know that tourism is important to their local economy, but they may not be aware of the resources the State of Georgia has to offer to help grow their local tourism economy. Explore Georgia, the tourism division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, has many resources to help different areas of the state with their unique tourism efforts.

Create Experiences

Within Explore Georgia, a special opportunity exists for rural communities—Tourism Product Development (TPD). The goal of this team is to help communities develop their current assets into tourism products. TPD is heavily focused on rural areas of the state that may not have had exposure to the tourism world in the past.

The TPD office forms a special team depending on a community’s specific assets and desires. A team typically stays in the community for two to three days evaluating the current tourism product and making recommendations of improvement. The team returns in approximately three months to present official recommendations. Our RGI team has assisted on numerous TPD teams across the state to help communities in this important aspect of economic development.

Tracie Sanchez, TPD Manager, says, “The tourism industry must continually expand, enhance or improve the quality and quantity of experiences available to visitors. Since 2010, the TPD program has provided technical assistance to almost 200 special places in Georgia using market segment experts and community developers to conduct visits to predominantly rural communities to evaluate potential for innovative and unique experiences based on local culture, natural resources and heritage.”

Agritourism

One of the fastest growing segments of tourism is agritourism, and rural Georgia has an abundance of low hanging fruit in this area. Agriculture is Georgia’s largest industry with a combined economic impact of $76 billion. Agritourism allows tourists to touch, feel, smell, and taste Georgia agriculture firsthand. According to the AgSnapshots 2020, produced by the Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development at the University of Georgia, agritourism accounts for $124 million in the Georgia economy.

Many rural communities already have the foundations of agriculture to foster agritourism experiences. To help create and grow these experiences, the Georgia Department of Agriculture has an Agritourism Manager, Cheryl Smith, dedicated to this endeavor. Consider joining the Georgia Grown program, where agritourism operators can list their operation online which allows people to search for experiences based on what product or service they are seeking out.

Downtown Development is Key

Rural downtowns are one of the most important aspects of rural tourism. Whether someone is coming for a visit to play on the river, such as in Bainbridge, or hike nature trails, such as in Blue Ridge, having a vibrant downtown is key to get those travelers to stay and spend money in the community.

Rural downtowns offer a unique experience for the traveler – and likewise a great opportunity for the community to make an impression on the traveler. To assist in downtown development, the Department of Community Affairs administers the Georgia Main Street program. This program began in 1980 with the goal of assisting communities in historic preservation, small business development, and increasing tourism – components of a healthy downtown. Consider your community getting involved with the Georgia Main Street program.

Coordinate for Success

A successful tourism strategy has community-wide coordination. A dedicated tourism coordinator can collaborate amongst all of the tourism operators and create a sense of place and an overall brand for the area. Many rural communities do not have a single point of contact in the county regarding tourism. In most places, the tourism director is one of many roles that a single person must fill. Consider evaluating your current Hotel-Motel Excise Tax structure and using some of these funds to create a stand-alone tourism position. The Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus has great resources to help assist local communities with evaluating their current Hotel-Motel Excise Tax structure.

Using the approach laid out above, rural communities can have a successful tourism economy. The RGI team is always ready to assist your rural Georgia.