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Analysis: urban hubs lead Georgia lodging market while agritourism and distilleries offer rural growth opportunities
Summary
University of Georgia analysis presented to a Senate committee showed urban regions (Atlanta metro and coastal hubs) dominate lodging and full-service restaurant revenue, while North Georgia leads in wineries and distilleries; agritourism opportunity and county-level variability were highlighted for targeted investment.
University of Georgia hospitality researchers told a Senate study committee in Savannah that Georgia's tourism economy is not uniform: urban markets dominate lodging and restaurant revenue, while distilleries, wineries and agritourism present targeted growth opportunities for nonmetro areas.
Dr. John Salazar, who presented a county-level location quotient analysis, said the urban lodging and full-service-restaurant sectors outperform rural counties on expected revenue share, while North Georgia performs relatively strongly in wineries and distilleries. "Urban regions dominate the hotel supply chain," Salazar said.
Key regional findings cited
- Atlanta Metro: strong lodging and restaurant revenue performance compared with local economy; constrained arts and entertainment share in the data set.
- Coastal Georgia (Savannah/Chatham area): hospitality- and tourism-driven; restaurants are a strong revenue source, but agritourism is less developed. Salazar showed a lodging score of about 46% for Coastal Georgia in the 2023 data set and noted that new hotel development may raise that share going forward.
- North Georgia: the strongest showing for wineries and distilleries (regional value cited around 59.7%), making the region competitive in that sub-sector.
- South and Central Georgia: agriculture-heavy economies with weaker lodging and restaurant infrastructure in some counties.
Salazar recommended region-specific strategies: bundle urban lodging with rural agritourism day trips, support farm-to-fork restaurant linkages in rural counties, and invest in hospitality infrastructure where location quotient analysis shows gaps. "Not all destinations are created equal," Salazar told the committee. "Each county is going to have its own unique story."
Why this matters
The analysis is intended to help the state tailor marketing and product-development investments by region so state funds better match local assets and to guide DMO partnerships and feasibility studies for hotels, restaurants, and agritourism projects. Lawmakers said the analysis will help frame policy recommendations that differentiate investment by region rather than assuming a one-size-fits-all approach.
