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The Front Door to Georgia’s Tourism Economy: Georgia Convention and Visitors Bureaus

Tourism & Georgia’s CVBs

Georgia’s Convention and Visitors Bureaus play a significant role in the economic contribution that the tourism industry has on Georgia’s economy. Through successful destination marketing strategies, the many Convention and Visitors Bureaus in our unique towns, cities, counties and regions help generate visitor spending which supports thousands of businesses and jobs. All sectors of the Georgia economy benefit from tourism activity.

Tourism & Jobs

The tourism sector is the 5th largest employer in Georgia, directly and indirectly supporting more than 400,000 jobs, or 10.3% of all payroll employment* last year. $14.3 billion in compensation was generated by tourism demand in 2011. On average, the tourism economy generated $35,885 in income per employee (including part-time). * BLS QCEW total payroll employment

Tourism & Taxes

• Taxes of $5.95 billion were directly and indirectly generated by tourism in 2011.
• State and local taxes alone tallied $2.6 billion.
• $3.4 billion in Federal taxes were generated in 2011.
• Each household in Georgia would need to be taxed an additional $744 per year to replace the tourism taxes received by state and local governments.

Tourism generated more than $49 billion in total economic impact driving significant business growth and revenues for companies operating in Georgia. This figure represents direct tourism business sales indirect and induced impacts.

Important Definitions

• Total Tourism Demand – Includes visitor spending plus other spending streams in support of the traveler industry. This includes government spending and capital investment in support of tourism.
• Tourism Economic Impact – Measures the full economic impacts of tourism demand, including direct, indirect and induced impacts.

Source

Study prepared for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Tourism Division by the U.S. Travel Association and Tourism Economics “The Economic Impact of Tourism in Georgia, Tourism Satellite Account Calendar Year 2011.”