The Georgia Senate Committee on Making Georgia the No. 1 State for Tourism held its first meeting at The Boathouse at Lake Lanier on Thursday.
The committee is headed by Hall County Republican State Sen. Drew Echols, who led the meeting along with Senators Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville), Russ Goodman (R-Homerville), Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta), and Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur).
It saw over 100 guests from various local businesses and politicians, and saw six speakers from different perspectives on tourism in the state.
The senators heard presentations from the speakers, asked questions, and made progress toward their goal of improving Georgia’s tourism industry.
“We got a little bit of everything,” Echols told AccessWDUN. “From the coast on the southeast corner to the hunting preserves in the southwest corner and everywhere in between … there’s nuggets everywhere … we got to figure out ways to promote this industry, to market this industry, strengthen it, because things are changing. It’s becoming very competitive.”
One of the speakers was Statewide Tourism Director for the Georgia Department of Economic Development Jay Markwalter, who fielded questions from State Sen. Goodman after his presentation.
“Our budget is $11.8-million,” Markwalter said. “The marketing portion of that is $5.3-million.”
Markwalter could not provide a comparison to surrounding states regarding the department’s budget.
“The second largest industry in the state, and we’re spending $5.3-million on marketing, is that correct?” Goodman asked.
Goodman also inquired about what percent of the state sales tax comes from out-of-state visitors and what percentage of tourism dollars happen in rural counties in the state.
“I didn’t think it was wasteful at all,” Goodman told AccessWDUN. “I think that’s where the gentleman who was doing the speaking is going to help us decipher what other states are doing.”
Echols also spoke about the Lake Lanier parks being closed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in May before a cost-sharing agreement was put into place to keep them open.
Lake Lanier’s significance to tourism is undeniable, attracting roughly 10-million visitors annually according to the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce.
“We need these parks for people to go enjoy themselves,” Echols told AccessWDUN. “They’ve paid for them, by God we need to let them use them.”
The cast of speakers also included Gainesville’s Tourism Director Robyn Lynch, Lake Lanier Convention and Visitors Bureau Preisdent Stacey Dixon, President of Lake Lanier Islands Resort Matthew Bowling, former local developer Dr. Jeff Payne, and Director of Policy and Research for the Council of State Governments Southern Regional Office Dr. Tyler Reinagel.
Markwalter provided statistics showing that in 2023, North Georgia welcomed 45-million visitors who spent roughly $4-billion, and that the total economic impact contributes $79.7-billion and supports nearly 500,000 jobs in the state.
Markwalter and Reinagel also spoke about the FIFA World Cup coming to Atlanta next year being a big point of tourism in the state in the near future.
Reinagel provided more statistics showing that nearly 257,000 jobs in the state are directly tied to tourism, with $35.4-billion in total tourism spending for 2023.
When asked whether or not the state would need to spend more to attract more tourism, Goodman told AccessWDUN he was not sure, and that’s what the point of the committee is.
“I don’t know, that’s what the whole part of this study committee is about,” Goodman said. “I go into this with no preconceived notions, it’s to learn and to hopefully move our state forward.”
Another point of contention was the relationship between the state and private industry. State and national parks generate a significant amount in tourism, with the National Park Service reporting that in 2023 visitors spent $26.4-billion in communities near national parks.
Georgia does not have a national park, although there have been recent efforts to make the Ocmulgee National Mounds in Macon one.
The best representation of that relationship was Bowling, who runs the Lake Laniers Islands Resort. Lanier Islands is privately managed but leased through USACE via the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority (LLIDA).
“Most of [the state and private] partnerships seem to be working very well across the state of Georgia,” Echols said.
Goodman added it was a successful first meeting.
“I thought the participation was great, I think there’s a lot of interest,” Goodman said. “Hopefully throughout this process, we’ll be able to see the things that we’re doing well and the things we can improve upon and hopefully act on them.”
http://accesswdun.com/article/2025/8/1297751/new-georgia-senate-committee-to-boost-tourism-holds-first-meeting-in-gainesville