Georgia Sees Boost in Tourism Industry
exploregeorgia.org
Millions of tourists apparently have Georgia on their minds.
The Peach State picked up a little more than $51 billion dollars from visitors in 2012, according to the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
“There are 405,000 of us Georgians who owe our employment to tourist spending in the state. It’s about 10.2% of the workforce. Those are big numbers,” says Kevin Langston, the Department’s deputy commissioner for tourism.
Last year’s tourism revenue is nearly 5% higher from 2011, and it’s also the first time Georgia has collected more than $50 billion dollars in annual tourism revenue.
Much of that money — about 60% — came from the Georgia Aquarium, the World of Coca-Cola and other metro Atlanta attractions.
However, tourists also visited other parts of the state.
“The region around Columbus is going to see a great boost, I think, with the Whitewater coming online. Macon, you know, they have a new walking tour about Macon‘s music history. Athens has some fantastic product as well,” says Langston.
Langston hopes future attractions, like the National College Football Hall of Fame, in downtown Atlanta, will build upon last year’s tourism dollars.
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