Seventy-two Tourism Entities Awarded $1 Million in Grant Funds
ATLANTA, July 31, 2007 – The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), through the Georgia Tourism Foundation, announced last week that it has awarded $1 million in co-operative tourism marketing reimbursement grants to 72 tourism entities around the state. The grants were awarded to communities, convention & visitor bureaus, regional travel associations and other non-profit tourism entities.
This year, the Foundation had a significant increase in applications with grant requests totaling more than $1.8 million. The program funded 72 of the 115 projects, with 34 of the recipients being first-time applicants. With the private sector matches totaling $6.8 million, the grant program will support communities with marketing projects that they would not have been able to fund entirely on their own and will assist them in reaching a larger audience. Independent judges scored the applications based on several factors including project goals and objectives, benefit to the community, positive economic impact and the ability to attract and service visitors.
'The co-op marketing grants program is an opportunity for the state to support Georgia's tourism entities through their marketing initiatives while encouraging public-private partnerships,' said Charlie Gatlin, GDEcD Deputy Commissioner for Tourism and Marketing and Executive Director of the Tourism Foundation. 'We are thrilled with the significant increase in applications and look forward to seeing the completed projects' economic impact on our tourism industry.'
The Georgia Tourism Foundation was created in 2005 through Senate Bill 125, spearheaded by Senator Jeff Mullis of Chickamauga and Representative Ron Stephens of Savannah, as part of Governor Perdue's Commission for a New Georgia. This non-profit, public-private organization brings together the leadership of the state's premier tourism destinations to consolidate marketing efforts, pool resources and more effectively promote Georgia's natural beauty, cultural heritage and rich attractions to visitors.
Recipients of the 2008 co-op marketing grants include:
Alpharetta Convention & Visitors Bureau
Andersonville National Historic Site
Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau
AthFest, Inc.
Atlanta Metro Travel Association
Augusta Canal Authority
Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau
Banks County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Booth Western Art Museum
Callaway Gardens: Ida Cason Callaway Foundation
Cartersville Downtown Development Authority
Cartersville-Bartow County Convention & Visitors Bureau
City of Jesup
Clayton County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Coastal Georgia Golf Association
Coastal Heritage Society
Cobb County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Colquitt/Miller Arts Council
Columbia County Board of Community Events Department
Columbia County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Columbus Convention & Visitors Bureau
Dahlonega-Lumpkin Convention & Visitors Bureau
Development Authority of Macon City & Chamber of Commerce
Dooly County Chamber of Commerce
East Central Georgia Travel Association/Classic South
Fernbank Museum of Natural History
Flannery O'Connor-Andalusia Foundation, Inc.
Georgia Coastal Travel Association
Georgia Humanities Council
Georgia Shrimp Association
Georgia State Fair, Inc.
Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Inc.
Georgia's Antebellum Trail Association
Georgia's Historic Heartland Travel Region
Georgia's Lake Country
Greater Augusta Arts Council
Greater Columbus Sports and Events Council
Greene County Chamber of Commerce
Hay House
Historic High Country Travel Association
Historic Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau
Historic Westville, Inc.
Hogansville Downtown Development Authority
Imperial Community Theatre, Inc.
Jekyll Island Foundation
Kingsland Area Convention & Visitors Bureau Authority
Lavonia 21st Century, Inc.
Lawrenceville Tourism & Trade Association
Lucy Laney Museum of Black History & Conference Center
Macon Arts Alliance, Inc.
Macon International Cherry Blossom Festival
Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Madison-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce
Marine Trade Association of Metropolitan Atlanta
Milledgeville-Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Museum of Arts and Sciences
Museum of Aviation Foundation, Inc.
National Black Arts Festival
Northeast Georgia Mountains Travel Association
Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation
Otis Redding Memorial Fund of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Inc.
Sautee and Nacoochee Valleys Association
Savannah Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Savannah Music Festival
Southwest Georgia Railroad Authority/DBS SAM Shortline Excursion Train
St. Marys Convention & Visitors Bureau/Gateway to Cumberland Island
Statesboro Convention & Visitors Bureau
Swainsboro/Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce
Thomson-McDuffie County Tourism Department
Tifton Tomorrow, Inc.
Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce
Zoo Atlanta
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, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.
For more information, visit www.georgia.org or call 404-962-4075.
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