January 16, 2007
Tourism Day at the Capitol
Tourism Day at the Capitol is coming up on January 30 and the hotel room deadline is January 22!To reserve a room in the TDAG block, please call 1-877-667-7210 and ask for Tourism Day at the Capitol. Rates are $69 for Single or Double Occupancy. Complete room reservation information can be found by clicking here.

Please plan to join us as we honor our champions in the General Assembly. We will have a tourism trade show on the second floor of the Capitol that highlights some of the great new programs for marketing Georgia Tourism. Please plan to arrive by 9 am on January 30. Please contact your legislators to let them know you will be in Atlanta on this special day.

DMAI Bi-Weekly Newsletter
Destination Marketing Association International is offering an online newsletter, DMAI Connections, to non-members. DMAI Connections will inform the destination marketing community of news, events and trends in the association and the industry. DMAI Connections replaces the association's weekly Destination Marketing News, and will be distributed every other Tuesday to subscribers. To subscribe, please click here.
Upcoming Tourism Events
ü Georgia Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus' Winter Meeting will be held Feb. 11 - 13 at the Hilton Garden Inn on 101 S. Front Street in Albany, Ga. The registration fee is $200 per member and $250 for each non-member. Monday's session is only: $50 per person or with lunch $85. The cut-off date for registration is January 15. Please click here to download a registration form (requires Adobe Reader) or please contact the GACVB for more information by clicking here.

ü The inaugural Athens Outdoor Show will be held at The Athens Classic Center April 20 - 22. The dates were selected to compliment the Tour de Georgia and the Athens Regional Medical Center Golf tournament weekend. This family oriented, all-inclusive event will bring together all types of exhibitors related to outdoor leisure, sport and recreation for the public to enjoy. The show's coordinators are currently accepting exhibitor registrations. Please click here for more information, including all exhibitor registration forms, or please call Philip A. Verrastro, Event Director for the Athens Outdoor Show, at 706.357.4427.

ü The Georgia Artists with Disabilities Exhibit will run from Jan. 11 - Feb. 3. Held at The Historic Ritz Theatre on 1530 Newcastle Street in Brunswick, Ga., this annual touring exhibit highlights award-winning work by artists with disabilities from throughout the state of Georgia.  Please click here for a full listing of dates and times or please call Event Phone at 912.262.6934 for more information.

ü The Tour de Georgia, an annual, multi-day, professional cycling stage race that draws the most elite cyclists and showcases one-of-a-kind towns and terrain in Georgia, will cover over 600 miles in seven days, from April 16 to April 22. The 2007 host cities are: Peachtree City, Macon, Thomaston, Rome, Chattanooga, Tenn., Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Brasstown Bald Mountain, Dalton, Lake Lanier Islands, Stone Mountain Park and Atlanta. To view part of the tour near you, please click here to find more information on the tour route and dates.

This is just a sample of tourism events across Georgia. Please keep us informed of upcoming tourism-related events, and we will include those in future newsletters.
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Past Alliance News
January 9, 2007
December 4, 2006
November 6, 2006
September 26, 2006
August 22, 2006
May 24, 2006
January 20, 2006
Greetings everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well. This week the General Assembly  is in recess so that the House and Senate can hold joint budget hearings on Wednesday and Thursday. I am very happy to report that Tourism and Economic Development remain a top priority for Governor Sonny Perdue.

The Governor's budget recommends:

$5.1 million in FY-08 for international marketing for the Global Commerce Division to increase international marketing efforts, expand Asia and Canada global commerce initiatives, and add five positions to develop international trade and investment business opportunities for the state.

This is great news and critical for our communities in Georgia to compete on a global stage. Many thanks to Deputy Commissioner Chris Clark and his team for their integrated approach on these international efforts.

For the Tourism Division

A research position for the Tourism Division ($81,000) to conduct studies to measure the impacts of current and potential tourism initiatives to increase Georgia's tourism market share ($231,000).

One fundraiser position to assist Tourism Foundation members with fundraising activities ($81,000).

$5 million in the FY-07 amended budget for the Tourism Division to provide funds for Civil War commemoration preparation and Resaca Battlefield development.

Congratulations to Georgia Department of Economic Development and their work on the regional visitor information centers, as well as the state visitor information centers. For the first time in many years, these programs are funded at their current level in the Governor's budget.

The Governor's budget also provides $13 million in FY-07 and $6 million in FY-08 to develop the "Go Fish Georgia" education center, state park and bass trail and improve fishing and recreation access to promote and improve boating and fishing tourism as a means of enhancing economic development in communities around the state.

In this newsletter you will also find very important information regarding Tourism Day at the Capitol (the reservation deadline for Hilton Atlanta is January 22!), Destination Marketing Association International's new bi-weekly e-newsletter and upcoming tourism events across the state. Registration deadlines are quickly coming up for Upcoming Tourism Events, so make sure you check those out. Please take time to peruse the information in the right column.

TDAG wants to continue updating you on all the great tourism news that is happening in Georgia. As always, we welcome your input and your ideas. Please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks for your commitment to Georgia and for your support of the Tourism Alliance.

Best Regards,

 

Joy Spears Walstrum

Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia

404-223-2471 (w)

404-358-5634 (m)

404-223-2290 (fax)

joy@tourismdevelopmentalliance.org