Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
UGA, hoteliers and DMOs tell Senate committee Georgia needs major workforce investment in hospitality
Summary
University of Georgia researchers and industry leaders told a Senate committee that Georgia's hospitality sector employs hundreds of thousands but faces high turnover, relatively low receipts per employee and a growing need for coordinated workforce development spanning high school, postsecondary and employer training.
University of Georgia hospitality researchers and tourism executives told a Georgia Senate study committee that workforce development is central to expanding tourism and converting marketing gains into reliable jobs.
"There are 486,000 Georgians who rely on this industry," said Michael Owens, president and CEO of the Tourism Leadership Council, citing the sector's employment scale as part of his presentation. Owens and other witnesses said the industry provides upward mobility but is highly dependent on entry-level hiring and retention.
Dr. John Salazar, head of hospitality at the University of Georgia, presented state labor and receipts data and flagged two structural challenges: lower receipts per…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
