Visitors to the Garden City drop millions when in town for special events, film projects and conventions – to the tune of $544.7 million in the pandemic-stricken 2020.
On Tuesday, March 1, the Augusta Commission heard an update from Destination Augusta and later signed an memo of understanding with the Downtown Development Authority to give funding toward its facade program as well as its clean up initiatives.
President and CEO of Destination Augusta, Bennish Brown, delivered the organization’s annual report citing numbers from Explore Georgia, the state tourism organization.
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Destination Augusta pumped up its efforts to attract visitors in recent months.
According to Brown, a new website for the group was launched to better attract conventions and film projects to the area. The new website has generated 29% more internet traffic from the previous year. The rebranding campaign themed “Visit AugUSta” is in its second year and has won two industry awards.
Augusta was home to 19 film projects and the convention industry has been strong as well, Brown said.
Upcoming conventions include Mary Kay, Armed Forces CERTS 2022, Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Georgia and Army TechNet, which combined are expected to bring in 8,600 visitors to the Tee Center this year.
Future projects include installing a zip line near the 5th Street Bridge which is currently undergoing refurbishment as a pedestrian bridge as well as a long-discussed International Soul Festival which is expected to draw top name acts as well as visitors based on the city’s association with the late Godfather of Soul, James Brown.
According to Brown, Augusta is not a one-trick-pony as there are a plethora of activities and destinations including ecotourism at the Augusta Canal, world class museums, unique local hospitality businesses, a growing entertainment sector and, of course, golf.
Despite the two-year long pandemic causing tourism nationwide to almost grind to a halt, Brown says that Augusta has rebounded and continues to grow in visitor spending. Brown says that his staff worked overtime to keep Augusta on the radar for groups planning excursions away from home.
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“We continued with our Come See Augusta campaign, with the knowledge that consumers still had a pent up demand to travel. We did not retreat from marketing, promoting and advertising when times were tough, and that has paid off,” Brown said.
Meanwhile, the Augusta Commission voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Downtown Development Authority allowing $500,000 worth of spending over the next three years for maintenance in the downtown area.
According to DDA Director Margaret Woodard, the maintenance measures are far more than simply cleaning up trash, but also for pressure washing the sidewalks, graffiti removal and other infrastructure maintenance.
The monetary infusion will also strengthen the DDA’s facade program, which is also partially funded by a gift from Georgia Power. The program fights blight in the area by aiding property owners in maintaining the facades of empty buildings in an effort to spur more business growth downtown.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
