The economic impact tourism has on Augusta and the surrounding area was celebrated by Destination Augusta, the Augusta Sports Council, and Film Augusta.
The numbers were announced at the 2024 Destination Augusta Champions event.
Bennish Brown, President and CEO of Destination Augusta (pictured above), told ABD the event is an opportunity to acknowledge the demanding work done by people in the tourism industry.
“We realize we don’t do this by ourselves. We want to make sure this industry knows we appreciate them,” he said. “We are the third largest employment sector in this region. Nearly 28,000 people have called this a career, or they might be in college and just getting started. So, we are a significant part of this region, of this region’s economy, and we need to pause every now and then and celebrate the work we do.”
For 2023, Destination Augusta reported visitors spent $854 million with food and beverage purchases topping the list with $233 million.
“Visitors generated $62.7 million in state and local taxes. Each Augusta/Richmond County household would need to be taxed an additional $847 per year to replace taxes generated by visitor economic activity,” read the report.
The total amount generated was $56,385,638.22.
The local numbers fall in line with an October report from the Georgia Office of Economic Development.
A news release detailed the 2023 numbers, showing the state broke records for the second year in a row. A new high of 171 million domestic and international visitors spent $43.6 billion statewide, supporting 463,400 jobs.
Local tourism’s impact spreads beyond Augusta-Richmond County. It stokes the economy in all surrounding counties, in Georgia and South Carolina.
Sports-related tourism looms large when counting money. Topping the list is the Masters Tournament, but next in line is a North Augusta event, the Nike Peach Jam.
“Nobody can compete with the Masters, but just think about the economic impact of an event in July that Nike brought to our area 28 years ago is the second largest,” explained Rick Meyer, Director of Parks, Recreation and Leisure Services for North Augusta. “I’m proud of what my team in the city of North Augusta brings to the table. No one person does this. So glad that Nike saw our venue, recognized it back 28 years ago, and also recognized that they had a team of folks in a city and the CSRA, Augusta, and North Augusta, that cared about what they were doing and felt like it was important.”
Brown calls Augusta the hub for sports-related tourism.
“Definitely, we have so many opportunities in our surrounding counties that a visitor would be interested in,” he said. “It is to definitely be expected that they want to explore whether someplace to go dine, some of the trails we have, but we are fortunate to be in a region where there are things that attract visitors. Might not be always in Augusta, but nearby.”
A highlight of this year’s celebration was the presentation of awards for individuals that led the local tourism industry to its success.
The Tourism Partner of the Year Award “presented to an outstanding individual, business or organization that has demonstrated exemplary collaborative endeavors with Destination Augusta,” went to Mark Myers, Director of Community Leadership & Engagement Living Learning Community at Augusta University.
The City of Augusta received the Community Spirit Award, “the best of community tourism service providers who are passionate and committed to making a difference.”
Film Augusta’s Partner of the Year Award went to local filmmaker, Amy Rhinehart Bailey, “a partner who has worked extensively with Film Augusta to bring film productions to the city which create local jobs, generate economic impact and who has made a personal impact in transforming Augusta into a growing hub for the film industry.”
The President’s Award was bestowed on Phil Wahl, President of Security Federal Bank, “who has gone above and beyond to promote and strengthen Augusta.”
Brown said the region has entered the traditional slowdown for the holiday season. However, Destination Augusta already has events booked in February 2025.
