Georgia Tourism Awards Funding to 13 New Tourism Projects

Georgia state logo ATLANTA, March 14, 2016 – The Georgia Department of Economic Development's (GDEcD) Tourism division announced today that it has awarded more than $55,000 in product development agreements to 13 new and expanding tourism projects across the state. In an effort to further tourism product development within the state, Georgia Tourism is offering this inaugural grant to communities who participated in the department's Tourism Product Development Resource Team program. The Tourism Product Development Resource Team program works to evaluate a community's potential for tourism growth and development through innovative, unique experiences based on a community's local culture and heritage. 'The Tourism Product Development Resource Team has streamlined its initiative to assisting our communities with funding, which is one of the greatest needs in fortifying tourism product development in Georgia,' said Cindy Eidson, Director of Tourism Product Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. 'By providing initial funds to projects that we help inspire, we are jump-starting tourism economic development across the state, helping to not only grow Georgia's tourism offerings, but also creating new jobs and sustainable economic development in each of these communities.' Since creation, the tourism resource team program has served 31 counties, cities and projects around the state in areas ranging from agritourism to downtown development. This funding will allow the local community to build new product resulting from the recommendations made by the Tourism Product Development Resource Team members or projects the community has developed as an expansion of the original resource team report. The Tourism Product Development Resource Team Community Funding Program was designed to financially support tourism development activities at the local level that maintain and create jobs, attract tourists, and enhance the visitor experience. Georgia Tourism's Product Development team assists counties, cities, private for-profits and non-profits by providing resources and financial assistance to develop tourism product across Georgia. Recipients of the 2016 Tourism Product Development Funding Program include:

  • Adel-Cook County Tourism Authority - Letters from a Confederate Solider Audio -$5,000
  • City of Buena Vista - Conceptual Plans for Downtown Facades & Streetscapes -$4,000
  • City of Dublin - Dr. MLK, Jr. Monument Signage -$5,000
  • City of Stockbridge - MLK, Sr. Heritage Trail - $5,000
  • City of Tallapoosa - Doodle Thrower Amphitheatre Renovation - $5,000
  • City of Thomson - McTell's 12 String Strut -$5,000
  • Dublin Downtown Development Authority - Dr. MLK, Jr. Monument Phase 2:  Mural - $5,000
  • Dublin-Laurens County Recreational Authority - Historic Stubbs Park Music Festival - $5,000
  • Eatonton-Putnam Downtown Development Authority - Walking Tour Brochure - $3,475
  • Liberty County Industrial Development Authority - Gateway Heritage Rehabilitation & Renewal - $5,000
  • Meriwether County Industrial Development Authority - Meriwether County Butterfly Trail - $1,295
  • Meriwether County Industrial Development Authority - Meriwether County Murals Trail - $5,000
  • Meriwether County Industrial Development Authority - Zombie-Themed Geocache Trail - $1,409

Georgia Tourism uses Peer Review Panels to adjudicate applications. Peer Review Panels include members of the Tourism Product Development Resource Team, and fellow professionals who are experienced in the tourism industry or the type of grant being reviewed. About GDEcD The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, aligning workforce education and training with in-demand jobs, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. www.georgia.org