The Gainesville City Council heard a presentation at their work session Thursday morning regarding the city’s strong tourism performance for the first quarter of 2022.
Robyn Lynch, director of Gainesville’s Convention & Visitors Bureau, told the council that events that the tourism department was involved with had a $3.4 million impact on the city. A little over 29,000 people attended events in the city during the first quarter.
The city has collected about $1.3 million from its hotel/motel tax for the current fiscal year, which Lynch said was the highest the city has ever recorded.
Lynch said the city is hoping to collect even more money with its hotel/motel tax once the new Courtyard by Marriott hotel is complete. She said hotel rooms in the city fill up quickly, so the new development will help boost the supply of rooms in the area.
The city hosted a variety of sporting events during the first quarter, including the Georgia Foothills volleyball tournament, a kayak fishing tournament and rowing training from several colleges and universities from across the country.
Lynch told the council there were a variety of events on the horizon throughout the summer months, including the following:
- May – Blue Sky Concerts
- May 7 – Gainesville Dragon Boat Challenge
- May 9-14 – NCAA Women’s DII Golf Championship
- May 15-17 – GHSA Boy’s Golf Championships
- May 13 – Food Truck Friday
- May 27 – Midland Music Fest
- June 3 – First Friday
- June 4 – Tri the Parks
- June 4 – The Lake Show
- June 10 – Food Truck Friday
- June 11 – Paddlemania
- June 20-25 – Georgia Police and Fire Games
