Tourism remains significant part of Southwest Georgia economy

ALBANY — Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard hosted a public forum Tuesday at the Albany Welcome Center to highlight the value of the tourism industry to Albany and showcase the city’s attractions and amenities available to residents and visitors.

The program was the latest in a series of forums organized by the Mayor’s Coalition for Economic Development and was intended to increase awareness of the attractions throughout the region and highlight the economic impact of tourism in Albany.

“This is the time of year for that, so we certainly want people to be informed,” Hubbard said.

Albany’s tourism efforts are led by the city’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, which markets Albany as a destination for groups, sports, leisure travel and conferences. CVB Director Rashelle Beasley discussed what makes Albany an attractive market for travelers and groups, and how the agency facilitates tourism-related economic development.

The CVB is funded by proceeds from the city’s hotel/motel tax, which has generated $1.8 million through May this year. Albany taxpayers are the benefactors of these tourism dollars, Beasley said.

“That is incentive enough for you to talk positively about Albany,” she said.

Beasley said the CVB conducts family reunion workshops and hosts many travel writers. Albany is home to the Snickers Marathon, which along with the concurrent downtown Mardi Gras festival, generates an economic impact of $700,000. Sporting events, as well as Albany State University alumni events, bring many visitors to Albany area attractions.

The welcome center keeps a visitors log, which was signed by 16,000 people from outside Albany — including 54 international visitors — last year. Nearly 200 relocation packets were sent out last year, indicating there are people interested in moving to Albany.

Nearly half of Albany hotel visits are business-related, generated by employers such as Procter & Gamble and Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany.

Albany’s major attractions include Chehaw park, the Albany Museum of Art, the Albany Civil Rights Institute, Thronateeska Heritage Center, Radium Springs and the Flint RiverQuarium. Representatives of some of those attractions were on hand at the forum to educate the public on what they have to offer.

The Georgia Department of Economic Development says Albany’s tourism industry has grown 20 percent during the last four years. In 2014, the most recent year for which data are available, the tourism industry had an economic impact of $221.52 million in Albany and Dougherty County.

Amanda Peacock, the Department of Economic Development’s tourism project manager for the Plantation Trace region, said there are nine travel regions in Georgia. Albany is part of the Plantation Trace region, which includes 26 counties.

Albany is home to one of three CVBs in the region, the others located in Valdosta and Bainbridge.

Peacock said Albany is probably the most utilized city for travel writers, creating a good opportunity to make sure the city is featured in state travel guides.

“We feature things about Albany all the time in state (publications),” she said.

Andria Godfrey, tourism research director for the Department of Economic Development, said the preliminary figures for 2015 showed an increase in tourism from the previous year, and that there are 439,000 jobs supported by the state’s tourism industry.

“It is a really big employer for our state,” she said.

Some of the questions and comments at the end of the forum regarded the utilization of transportation for tourism purposes, informing Albany area citizens on what the region has to offer, marketing African-American heritage and Albany’s role in the Civil Rights Movement, and the planning of a Ray Charles event later this year.