James May-June 2023 web - Flipbook - Page 10
office expects Georgia’s business travel to reach 90
percent of the mark set in 2019 by the end of this year.
International travel could to reach the 75 percent mark.
G O O D “ BO UN C E BAC K” N E WS A R O UND G E O R G I A
JW MARRIOTT SAVANNAH PLANT RIVERSIDE DISTRICT
A COVID ERA OPEN-FOR-BUSINESS POLICY
“Governor Kemp’s ‘open-for-business’ approach
paved the way for the tourism industry to not only
survive the pandemic but also grow market share of
domestic overnight visitation by moving from No. 7
to No. 5 among all 50 states and Washington, DC in
2020, and then repeat that rank again in 2021,” notes
Department of Economic Development Chief Marketing Officer Mark Jaronski, “The tourism industry has
also matched the $4.2 billion in state and local tax
revenues it generated in 2019— the bar set in 2019. I
contribute our success to the way the governor handled the opening of the state.”
There’s no doubt, the COVID-19 era had a significant impact on Georgia’s tourism industry, as it did
around the world, due to travel restrictions and social
distancing measures. Georgia alone lost approximately $27 billion in economic impact and 96,000 jobs due
to the pandemic. Yet the state has taken successful
measures to recover from the pandemic’s impact on
tourism, including the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s recovery plan to promote tourism.
The plan includes marketing campaigns, financial
assistance for Georgia destinations across the state and
support of tourism infrastructure development.
“Domestic and leisure travel have recovered faster
than any other type of travel in Georgia,” said Jaronski.
“However, business and international travel have been
slower to recover. Both still lag the numbers we were
experiencing in 2019.” But he says Georgia’s tourism
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JAMES
M AY/ JU N E 2023
President Joseph Marinelli of Visit Savannah also
credits the governor with the successful “bounce back”
for tourism. “Our post-COVID comeback began in September 2020 because Governor Kemp proclaimed the
state open for business. We have been off to the races
since then. Prior to COVID, everyone was experiencing
record numbers in 2019, but in 2022 we are expecting
to far surpass 2019. Last year, we had a record year with
visitor spending and visitation numbers. And three
months into 2023, we continue to be on a record pace.”
Marinelli credits many reasons for the record numbers, including air service. “There are more non-stop
flights to Savannah than ever before, and these flights
are bringing in more people from all around.” he said.
“We also have the new Enmark Arena and are drawing
top-tier headliners who are driving our visitor numbers.”
Marinelli said leisure travel seems to be the biggest
driver for tourism in Savannah but adds that conventions and meetings are “very strong.” He agrees that
international visitation is slower than other categories
of travel but is starting to get over the “bump.”
Remember, too, that Savannah is completing an
extension of its convention center,with the opening
scheduled for January. “We already have 34 events on
the books for the expanded space,” Marinelli notes.
Athens is also seeing a boost with strong growth in
tourism and events. “In 2021, we experienced a remarkable 42.7 percent growth in direct tourism spending, and
DUNGENESS RUINS ON CUMBERLAND ISLAND