International Dignitaries To Tour Central And Western Georgia

ATLANTA, April 7, 2011 — The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced today the 25th annual International VIP Tour, which includes top diplomats representing 21 countries who will tour the central and western regions of Georgia.  The tour, which runs from April 13-15, will feature economic development partnerships, businesses, academic institutions and tourist destinations in Macon, Perry, Columbus, Pine Mountain, Warm Springs, LaGrange and West Point.

The tour combines travel destinations with significant economic development projects and leading businesses, and enables Georgia's diplomatic corps to meet Georgians in their own communities.  This experience also provides regions in Georgia with opportunities to promote their businesses, academic and cultural assets to the leadership of Atlanta's international diplomatic and trade communities.

'The annual International VIP Tour plays an increasingly important role in Georgia's ongoing efforts to create and maintain two-way relationships with countries around the world,' said Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.  'As home to so many significant businesses, tourism attractions and fine academic institutions, central and western Georgia really do characterize a lot of what makes our state globally competitive.  The tour provides Georgia's communities with direct access to representatives from global markets, which can be quite useful in developing future opportunities.'

The International VIP Tour is a unique program that benefits its participants and host regions. Each year, tour participants visit a part of the state they might not otherwise experience, primarily beyond metropolitan Atlanta, in order to enhance their understanding of Georgia's amenities and culture. The tour also offers communities the opportunity to establish relationships with international business representatives.

This year's International VIP Tour will include representatives from Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Nigeria, Philippines, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

"Georgia is a state ripe with international trade, academic, social and cultural opportunities that greatly benefit the Consular Corps and the countries we represent," said Dr. Lutz Görgens, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany and Dean of the Consular Corps in Georgia. "My colleagues and I value this experience as a relationship-building tool that has proved invaluable in making important, beneficial connections between these regions throughout Georgia and our respective countries."

The International VIP Tour will visit sites highlighting central and western Georgia's manufacturing, educational, tourism, entertainment and cultural industries.  The tour begins in Macon with a visit to Mercer University on Wednesday, April 13, with breakfast hosted by the university and the Macon Economic Development Commission.  Other stops in Macon include the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds Park and YKK U.S.A., Inc.  The group will also visit Frito-Lay's Perry facility on the first day of the tour, with a stop for lunch hosted by the Houston County Development Authority.

Day two of the tour includes stops in Columbus where the consular corps will visit the NCR facility for a presentation and tour, followed by a visit to the National Infantry Museum, with lunch hosted by the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce.  The tour will be hosted for dinner in LaGrange by the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce.   On Friday, April 15, the tour arrives in Warm Springs for a hosted tour of the Little White House at F.D. Roosevelt State Park & Historic Site.  Later in the day in West Point, the diplomats will visit KIA Motors Manufacturing Georgia, with the International VIP Tour concluding at the Hills and Dales Estate in LaGrange.

The Georgia Consular Corps consists of consuls general, consuls, honorary consuls and trade commissioners representing 67 countries. The 25th annual International VIP Tour also includes leaders of bi-national chambers.  Career officers are members of their country's foreign services while honorary officials are local residents appointed by foreign governments to perform consular duties. Each consulate offers diplomatic and business assistance to nationals from its respective country.

International trade and investment account for a significant portion of Georgia's economic development efforts.  The state's total value of goods exported from Georgia in 2010 was in excess of $28.7 billion, which is the most Georgia has ever exported in a single year.  Exports from Georgia increased 27.11 percent compared to 2009 figures, higher than the overall national increase of 22.6 percent.  Georgia's International Trade division facilitated 235 deals during the 2010 fiscal year.  The state's international offices assisted with 60 percent of those deals, which exceeded $21.3 million.

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 location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.  Visit www.georgia.org for more information.