Tourism

B2B Stories

Huge tournament impact at Augusta Regional this year

Leaders at Augusta Regional Airport are still crunching the numbers, but the first review showed increased activity and revenue. Members of the Aviation Commission learned results are up across the board, from arrivals and departures to security screening and jet fuel sales. “The fact that what we pull off with the size of the facility, and what we try to do every year, it’s really miraculous. We kind of punch well above our weight come Masters Week,” executive director Herbert Judon, Jr. told commission members. Kenneth Hinkle, the airport’s Director

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B2B Stories

American Airlines and Delta are growing, while Airport targets new major city

One airline is adding several new flights, another is growing operations, and Augusta Regional Airport (AGS) is preparing a grant to secure a third airline focused on a major Midwest city. American Airlines informed airport management that it will be adding additional service in May and August. It will connect to the Charlotte hub, so it will not add a destination city, but will increase capacity. “They’re going to add more overnight flights, so they’ll have more of a peak,” Airport Executive Director Herbert Judon, Jr. explained to members of

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B2B Stories

Tourism leaders hope lodging revenue surpasses $34.2 million in April

There was very little room at the Inn at hotels like the Augusta Marriott last week. Some of the Hotel/Motel taxes trickle down to Destination Augusta to reinvest funds to bring in more conventions. The tourism arm of the City of Augusta says the Smith Travel Research group will release financial estimates in the summer, which will highlight occupancy and revenue rates—including Masters week. Destination Augusta provided ABD with revenue data for the last four years: April 2025 — $34.2 million in hotel/motel revenue April 2024 — $30.2 million April

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B2B Stories

Days of golf, evenings of exploration

Day one of practice rounds is underway at the Augusta National Golf Club (ANGC). When practice rounds and tournament days conclude each evening, area tourism and business leaders want visitors to explore activities off the golf course. Destination Augusta created a new set of tools to showcase the Garden City. It began with a refresh of its Visit Augusta website. “We updated our content and are getting it on the forefront of our homepage so it’s easily accessible to people who are Googling for answers,” Karen Lee Davis of Destination

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B2B Stories

Traffic and Travel Solutions for the tournaments

The first Practice round for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (ANWA) begins this morning, marking the beginning of Metro Augusta’s busiest travel season. Traffic will start to increase, and activity levels are high at Augusta Regional Airport (AGS). In addition to the regularly scheduled destinations of Washington D.C., Dallas, Charlotte, and Atlanta, Delta and American Airlines will offer additional direct flights to accommodate increased travel demand.  From April 5th through April 13th, Delta Air Lines will offer direct flights to Austin (AUS), Detroit (DTW), New York (JFK) and (LGA), Boston

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B2B Stories

Major changes in DT Augusta begin this year, thanks to agencies’ collaboration

A portion of the 2017 tourism plan is progressing in 2026, thanks to “Augusta 2035: Blueprint for Action.” It is Augusta Tomorrow’s vision project to grow both Augusta and North Augusta with big input from Destination Augusta. Jennifer Bowen, Chief Strategy Officer, SVP, & Film Commissioner for Destination Augusta, told ABD they are excited about the plan. “We’ve had an opportunity, actually, to be involved in it from the very beginning,” she said. “Bennish (Brown, President and CEO of Destination Augusta) first had an opportunity to serve on the committee

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B2B Stories

Aerospace experts land in CSRA for key conference

Aerospace experts from education, business, and the military are in Augusta this week for the Seventh Annual Innovation Xchange. The one-day event is on Thursday, March 5.  Diane Johnston, Director of Innovation and Business Development at Augusta Regional Airport (AGS), told ABD the forum will focus on new aerospace technologies. “We have panelists come from all over the world to present about some of the things that they’re doing, some of the technologies that they’re dealing with,” she said. “It allows people to get into the room and network and brainstorm

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B2B Stories

Updating a visitor’s destination on the Savannah River

The downtown Augusta hotel that overlooks the Savannah River has started an interior renovation project, and Augusta Business Daily has several photos of where some of the work will be done. This marks the first large-scale upgrade since it became the Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites in Jan. 2006. It opened in Feb. 1992 as the Radisson Riverfront Hotel and Country Suites.  “We’re in the process of going through just an overall improvement plan within the hotel. We’re focusing on case goods, soft goods,” General Manager Brendan England explained for ABD.  Case goods

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B2B Stories

Renovations in progress for familiar downtown Augusta hotel

A Charleston developer can take inspiration from hotels like the Rand Tower Hotel in Minneapolis, Minnesota. That hotel and a fifty-year-old property at 600 Broad Street in Augusta are now part of Marriott’s Tribute portfolio.  The Marriott website said the Tribute portfolio is “A family of independent boutique hotels bound by their indie spirit and heart for connecting people and places.” Breakwater, a Charleston-based company, is undertaking a major renovation of the Ramada hotel, first opened in 1974 as the Executive House Hotel. The I.M. Pei-designed building was renamed Ramada

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B2B Stories

Investment firm acquires iconic Augusta hotel

A West Augusta hotel is about to get a serious makeover to the tune of $12 million. It’s the largest investment in upgrading an area hotel since a $10 million investment was made about four years ago in Augusta. The DoubleTree by Hilton Augusta on 2651 Perimeter Parkway near I-20 and I-520 was recently acquired by an affiliate of Flacks Group, a Miami-based investment firm. Flacks has selected StepStone Hospitality to manage the property. The planned renovation will include refreshed guest rooms, upgraded public areas, a reimagined food and beverage experience, new

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