Tourism

In about ten days, Augusta’s near $1 billion tourism industry will take a bow as it honors key contributors and looks ahead to 2027. (From L to R) Derek May and Karen Gordon will receive President’s Awards from Destination Augusta, while Kim Dillard picks up the Community Spirit Award, and Meadow Garden receives the honor as Tourism Partner of the Year. Brief bios are below. Awards will be handed out during the annual Augusta State of Tourism event on Wednesday, Nov. 4 at the Augusta Marriott at the Convention Center. 

Downtown Augusta merchants are stuck in the middle of a construction bottleneck.  Destination Augusta creatives are trying to spur business with an idea shoppers may stay for. There’s a potential payoff for residents to work around the various streetscape projects. During the rest of September, October, November, and December, a different shopper will win an Augusta Staycation Package that includes a local hotel stay and different restaurant and entertainment experiences.  September’s prize pack includes a (2) night stay at the Partridge Inn, concert tickets to see comedian Martin Lawrence at

Arts in the Heart is just one of eight tourism events starting this week that will yield almost $10 million in economic impact to the community and revenue for supporting businesses. About 100,000 of the expected 109,000 visitors will attend Arts in the Heart the weekend of September 18th, according to Destination Augusta. The following Monday, the IRONMAN 70.3 Augusta competition begins drawing another 7,000 visitors. The other tourism events include several conferences in the education, military, cyber, planning, and code enforcement spaces.

The Greater Augusta Arts Council (GAAC) is sprinting toward the 45th annual Arts in the Heart of Augusta festival. The three-day event runs Sept. 18-20 somewhere else this year.  From its humble beginnings in the parking lot of the Municipal Building in the early 1980s, the festival has grown into one of Augusta’s largest tourism activities. In 2025, Destination Augusta estimated attendance at 100,000 people. That generated more than $1.8 million in revenue, making the festival one of Augusta’s largest non-sporting events. The festival soon outgrew its original home and

Aiken, Edgefield, and McCormick counties are in the running to be the venue to retry Alex Murdaugh for the double murders of his wife and son. One problem: the trial starts over Masters Week 2027. Yours truly spent Friday in a Lexington, South Carolina courtroom during a hearing. One of the motions related to the venue, and several areas were disqualified. Here are my thoughts on an incredible display of lawyering.