Atlanta Metro Travel Impact Counties: Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, Dekalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry
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Atlanta Metro Travel Impact Counties: Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, and Henry Economic Impact Direct Travel Expenditures Taxes What’s happening in Atlanta Metro • The PGA TOUR’s Champions Tour announced that the Greater Gwinnett Championship will be held at • LEGOLAND Discovery Center Atlanta opened in TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth, Ga. April 15-21, 2013. The Phipps Plaza in March. This is the third LEGOLAND course will host the tournament through 2016. The Discovery Center in the United States. Described as Gwinnett Sports Commission, the host entity for stepping into the biggest box of LEGO bricks in the the tournament, will operate the 54-hole stroke play world, the $15 million, 30,000-square-foot interactive tournament with 81 Champions Tour professionals attraction features many of Atlanta’s landmark competing for the $1.8 million purse. buildings made out of LEGO bricks. • Atlanta hosted the first annual Travel South • Governor Deal officially designated the brand new International Showcase. More than 275 delegates Gone With the Wind Trail in May 2012. The trail offers from 17 countries on six continents attended the visitors access to the history and legacy behind the inaugural event in November. Southern travel Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. It also uncovers the suppliers conducted more than 3,000 business complex life of Margaret Mitchell. The trail travels appointments during the three-day conference. through three counties from Marietta through Atlanta to Jonesboro. • The Maynard H. Jackson International Terminal opened May 16, 2012 at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, cementing Atlanta as the global gateway to the U.S. The project, a $1.4 billion Buford Alpharetta Sugar Hill Acworth development, adds 12 international gates, creating Roswell Suwanee Kennesaw Duluth Dacula 75 Dunwoody Norcross 85 Marietta Sandy Lawrenceville a 40-gate international air-travel complex. The new Springs Doraville Powder Smyrna Lilburn Springs Chamblee Loganville 285 Tucker Austell 285 Stone Snellville terminal services nearly 80 destinations in more than Mableton Mountain Lithia Scottdale Springs Atlanta Decatur 20 Douglasville Lithonia 50 countries, and inbound travelers are connected to East Point 20 Hapeville College Park Conley Forest 675 Ellenwood Union City Park more than 150 U.S. cities. In total, the new terminal Fairburn Morrow Riverdale Stockbridge Palmetto Jonesboro Tyrone 85 75 creates 2,000 jobs. McDonough Fayetteville Peachtree City Newnan Hampton Locust Grove Sharpsburg • Southern Living returned to Senoia, the site of the Grantville Moreland Senoia 2010 Southern Living Idea House, with its first-ever farm house restoration. With more than 30,000 visitors from June through December, this was Southern Living’s most successful Idea House ever. ExploreGeorgia.org/AtlantaMetro Classic South Travel Impact Counties: Burke, Columbia, Emanuel, Glascock, Greene, Hancock, Jefferson, Jenkins, Johnson, Lincoln, McDuffie, Oglethorpe, Richmond, Taliaferro, Warren, Washington and Wilkes Economic Impact Direct Travel Expenditures Taxes What’s happening in Classic South • In September 2012, Augusta hosted 3,400 athletes for the fourth edition of the ESi IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta, • Lady Antebellum is featured on the cover of Georgia’s and will likely establish a record for the largest 2012 State Travel Guide. The featured photo was IRONMAN 70.3 race. The City of Augusta has a deep taken in Charles and Dave’s hometown of Columbia pride of their early American history and roots, in County at Evans Towne Center Park before their addition to its steep heritage in sport thanks to the hometown dedication show this past fall. prestigious annual Masters Golf tournament. • The Classic South Travel Region was awarded • More than 275 soccer players, coaches, and NCAA $10,000 in marketing funds by the Georgia officials, from New York, California, Canada, Florida Department of Economic Development for placing and parts in-between traveled to Columbia County third in the second Annual Georgia Smackdown to compete in the 2012 NCAA Division II Men’s and Contest at the 2012 Governor’s Tourism Conference. Women’s Soccer Championships. The Peach Belt • The Augusta Convention Center, formerly called the Conference and Columbia County, Georgia co-hosted Trade, Exhibit, and Event Center or TEE Center, is now the championships played at Blanchard Woods Park open. Part of the Downtown Augusta Redevelopment on 11/29 (semifinals) and 12/1(finals). Plan - the complex is more than 200,000 square feet with 40,000 square feet of exhibit-hall space. The building design also includes a ballroom, a kitchen, a loading dock and storage space. Crawford • The Lincoln County Artisans Gallery opened in Lexington Tignall Washington Lincolnton Philomath Clarks Hill December 2012. Lincoln Artisans, an art and retail Lake Union Point Greensboro Crawfordville Appling Evans Martinez 20 Thomson space on Main Street, is an initiative of the Lincoln Lake Norwood Augusta Oconee Grovetown Warrenton Dearing Harlem 520 County Development Authority, with the goal of Jewell Lake Sparta Mitchell Sinclair Wrens Warthen fostering and promoting local and regional artists and Waynesboro Louisville Sandersville craftsmen. The “incubator program” is designed to Bartow Wadley accelerate the growth and success of a new business Wrightsville Midville Millen Swainsboro Twin City through support and services such as physical space, 16 capital, coaching, and so forth. ExploreGeorgia.org/ClassicSouth Georgia Coast Travel Impact Counties: Brantley, Bryan, Camden, Charleton, Chatham, Effingham, Glynn, Liberty, McIntosh, Pierce and Ware Economic Impact Direct Travel Expenditures Taxes What’s happening in the Georgia Coast • The Savannah Stopover has proven itself as one of the South’s up-and-coming music festivals with • The Coastal Heritage Society opened Savannah’s a phenomenal lineup, exciting new attractions first children’s museum in June 2012. Savannah’s and venues. Stopover capitalizes on the logistical children’s museum’s Exploration Station is a 1-acre, good fortune of Savannah, Georgia’s proximity two-level, outdoor exhibit area featuring themes such to interstates 95 and 10 by presenting traveling as math, music, literacy, culture, science and art that musicians with a welcoming place to play en route to will engage children’s imaginations and provide a Austin’s annual SXSW Music Festival. A collaborative whimsical space to learn through play. effort of MusicFile Productions and countless • Georgia Buffalo, Inc. is a family owned and operated volunteers, partners, vendors, and media sponsors, bison ranch located on the beautiful southeast coast the Savannah Stopover showcases more than 100 of Georgia, in the town of Townsend. In addition to bands in multiple venues across Savannah’s walkable their ranch tours, chuck wagon meals and beautiful Historic District. The 2013 event is March 7 – 9. wedding venues, Georgia Buffalo provides their customers with a healthy selection of high quality, all- natural and hormone free bison. • With deluxe accommodations, delicious southern cooking and a bird habitat to rival any in the nation, Dorchester Shooting Preserve is a destination for Springfield Guyton Rincon outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. Expanding in 2012 to Port Black Wentworth Pembroke 16 Creek Garden City Pooler feature additional lodging opportunities, Dorchester Ellabelle Thunderbolt Savannah Tybee Richmond Hill Island Flemington has become a welcome member of the Coastal Hinesville 95 Midway Sunbury Riceboro Georgia tourism family. Shellman Townsend Bluff Eulonia Blackbeard Island Meridian Patterson Sapelo Darien Island Blackshear Little St. Waycross Waynesville Simons Island Brunswick Nahunta Sea Island Hoboken St. Simons Island 95 Jekyll Island Homerville Kings Bay Woodbine Cumberland Folkston Island Kingsland St. Marys Fargo St. George ExploreGeorgia.org/TheGeorgiaCoast Historic High Country Travel Impact Counties: Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Pickens, Polk, Walker and Whitfield Economic Impact Direct Travel Expenditures Taxes What’s happening in Historic High Country • Lake Point in Emerson held its formal groundbreaking for the $1 billion, 1,200-acre sports complex that is • Gibbs Gardens in Ballground opened to showcase expected to eventually bring 26,000 jobs for both more than 220 acres of 16 world-class gardens as the on-site complex and surrounding hotels and highlighted on the cover of Southern Living Magazine restaurants when it opens in 2014. and detailed in the feature story inside. • Historic Banning Mills near Carrollton joined the ranks of world record holders, not once but twice, and verified by Guinness World Records, with their tallest artificial climbing wall at 139ft, and largest and longest zip line canopy tour (course) in the world touting almost 9 miles of zip lines and bridges. • Cartecay Vineyards opened in Ellijay featuring their signature chimney patio where visitors relax with wine and friends to the sounds of live music and adding to the attractions along “Apple Alley.” • West Georgia Textile Heritage Trail installed the first interpretive signs in Carrollton as a result of GDEcD’s Tourism Product Development grant funds, setting Lookout Rossville Mountain Cohutta McCaysville Wildwood Ft. Oglethorpe Mineral Trenton Ringgold Crandall Bluff Morganton the standard for continuing trail development from Chickamauga Tunnel Hill Blue Ridge Lake