The City of Thomasville Tourism Department was recently awarded a Tourism Recovery Marketing Grant from Explore Georgia, the state tourism office within the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). The Explore Georgia Tourism Recovery Marketing Grant program was designed to provide relief to areas of the state most impacted by the drop in tourism due to the COIVD-19 pandemic and will fund promotional efforts to aid the travel industry's recovery in 2021.
“It is an honor to be one of the 34 tourism entities across 27 counties to be awarded the Explore Georgia Tourism Recovery Grant,” said Bonnie Hayes. “The grant program supports marketing efforts to bolster the recovery of Georgia’s tourism industry that was devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds will be used to market Thomasville to a larger audience on multiple digital platforms and assist with our community’s recovery from the pandemic.”
According to Hayes, the $8,000 grant will be used to implement a digital advertising campaign to attract visitors to Thomasville. “These ads have the opportunity to raise awareness of what we offer and can entice viewers to act on their desire to travel and visit our beautiful city,” said Hayes. “The ultimate goal is to attract visitors during what is typically a slower visitation time between the months of July and September. This would allow hotels, local businesses, and attractions to see a longer more stable tourism season.“
Governor Kemp and the Georgia General Assembly approved $1 million in the amended FY21 state budget for tourism recovery. “Due to a substantial number of grant applications totaling nearly $2.5 million in funding requests, Explore Georgia contributed an additional $1 million from the state tourism marketing budget to fund as many grants as possible,” said Hayes. The Explore Georgia Tourism Recovery Marketing program also includes $500,000 in co-op matching funds, for a total of $2 million in recovery support.
“Georgia is a beautiful state and as we continue to recover, I look forward to working alongside our industry partners to promote the state’s incredible tourism assets to travelers across the globe,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of GDEcD. “These grants are an important tool for our industry organizations, the majority of which are small businesses, to begin their recovery efforts. We are dedicated to rebuilding travel and tourism across our state because Georgia’s diverse economy cannot fully recover until our tourism and hospitality industry is thriving once again.”
Hayes says the applications were evaluated based on need, quantified by the loss in Hotel-Motel Excise Tax collections, and the change in unemployment in the organization's county. “The City of Thomasville, along with all grant recipients, received 100 percent of the award amount requested on their applications.”
“Tourism is a major component of our local economy,” said Hayes. “The City of Thomasville is not only committed to the continued economic recovery of our hotels and attractions, but we are also committed to supporting the local businesses that continue to make Thomasville one of Georgia’s best small towns.
Based in Atlanta, Explore Georgia is the tourism division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, working to advance Georgia’s tourism industry that represented $69 billion and supported more than 484,000 jobs in 2019.
For more information about the Tourism Recovery Marketing Grant from Explore Georgia or Thomasville’s Tourism Department, please contact the City of Thomasville Visitors Center at 229-228-7977, or visit thomasvillega.com.