Georgia Communities Receive Funding for Tourism and Arts

ATLANTA, October 3, 2014 - The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) has awarded $200,000 in product development agreements to 10 tourism and art entities across the state. Georgia Tourism and Georgia Council for the Arts (GCA), both divisions of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, partnered again this year in order to continue to maximize the Tourism Product Development program. 'Cultural and heritage tourism is one of the fastest growing segments in today's travel industry with 80 percent of travelers interested in cultural attractions, destinations and events,' said Kevin Langston, deputy commissioner of tourism for the Georgia Department of Economic Development. 'With the creation of new cultural tourism opportunities across the state, we are able to attract more visitors and create more jobs that will sustain the industry's economic growth.' The Tourism Product Development Agreement program was designed to financially support tourism development activities at the local level that produce jobs and support Georgia's creative economies with an emphasis on local artists and the nonprofit arts industry. The Georgia Department of Economic Development received 73 applications for the 2015 Tourism Product Development program amounting to more than $1 million in requests. 'The Tourism Product Development program gives local communities the resources necessary to support and grow local arts-based tourism assets," said GCA executive director Karen Paty. "With this funding, each community is able to increase public access to high quality arts and cultural offerings that bring communities together and attract tourists." Recipients of the 2015 Tourism Product Development recipients include: City of Griffin City of Hapeville City of Savannah City of Tybee Island Downtown Development Authority of Dahlonega Downtown Development Authority of the City of Rome Fannin County Jasper County Jenkins County Macon-Bibb County Georgia Tourism's Product Development team assists private for-profit, nonprofit and local governments by providing resources and financial assistance to develop tourism product across Georgia. Georgia Council for the Arts provides support for nonprofit arts organizations throughout the state. Established in 1965 as the Georgia Commission on the Arts, its mission is to encourage excellence in the arts, support the arts' many forms of expressions and make the arts available to all Georgians by providing funding, leadership, programming and other services. 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, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts events and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. www.georgia.org