International Dignitaries to Tour Coastal Georgia

ATLANTA, March 17, 2010 — The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) announced today the 24th annual International VIP Tour, which includes top diplomats representing 20 countries who will tour Georgia's coastal region.  The tour, which runs from March 24-26, will feature tourist destinations, businesses, educational institutions and economic development partnerships in Savannah, Brunswick, Fort Stewart, Statesboro, Darien and Jekyll Island.

The tour combines travel destinations with significant economic development projects and local business leaders, and enables Georgia's diplomatic corps to meet local Georgians in their own communities.

'As Georgia continues to enhance its reputation as a leader in global business, opportunities like the International VIP Tour allow the state to strategically emphasize the business, cultural, tourism and educational assets that are uniquely Georgia,' said Ken Stewart, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.  'Coastal Georgia is not only a region of beautiful sights, but is also home to businesses and enterprises that play a significant role in the state's economy.

The diplomatic corps will have an opportunity to leverage this tour to attain a greater understanding of the importance of this region to the companies in the countries they represent.'

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 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 Albania, Argentina, Bahamas, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Japan, Korea, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Mali, Philippines, Quebec, Swedish Chamber of Commerce, Switzerland, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

'The International VIP Tour offers Georgia's consular corps with unmatched opportunities to strengthen our social, political, economic and cultural relationships with communities throughout the state,' said Ambassador Reda Mansour, Consul General of Israel and Dean of the Consular Corps.  'Coastal Georgia is a unique region in the state, and will undoubtedly prove beneficial to the countries we represent.'

The VIP Tour will visit sites highlighting coastal Georgia's diversity of manufacturing, educational, tourism, entertainment and cultural industries. The first stop on Wednesday, March 24 is the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco.  The tour participants will experience the FLETC simulators.  The group will have lunch at this stop, sponsored by FLETC, hosted by the Brunswick-Glynn Country Development Authority and the Brunswick-Golden Isles Chamber of Commerce.  From FLETC, the tour departs for tourism-related sites on Jekyll Island.   The tour participants will stop for dinner in Darien, sponsored by the Southeast Georgia Joint Development Authority (SEGA) representing Wayne, Brantley, Charlton, McIntosh, Glynn and Camden counties.

In Savannah on the morning of Thursday, March 25, the group will visit the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and tour historic downtown Savannah. Later that morning, tour participants will visit Southern Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), Inc., and in the afternoon they'll learn more about Georgia's deepwater ports during a trip to the Georgia Ports Authority.

The afternoon in Savannah will be rounded out by a tour of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation, one of Georgia's leaders in the aerospace industry.  The group will remain in Savannah for dinner, sponsored by the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA).   On Friday, March 26, the tour arrives in Statesboro, and will spend the first part of the morning at Georgia Southern University (GSU).  Upon departing GSU, the group will travel to Fort Stewart for a tour of the military installation.

The Georgia Consular Corps consists of consuls general, consuls, honorary consuls and trade commissioners representing 63 countries. 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.

In fiscal year 2009, Georgia's international trade efforts served 725 companies, and helped facilitate deals in 42 countries.  The value of those deals increased almost 67 percent over the previous fiscal year.

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.