Explore Georgia says 71 million visitors generated roughly $80 billion in economic impact; adds civil‑rights sites and readies for World Cup

Explore Georgia, the tourism division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, told the Economic Development & Tourism committee that the state hosted about 71 million visitors in 2023 and that tourism produced roughly $80 billion in total economic impact and supported more than 463,000 jobs.

Jay, statewide tourism director at the department, told the committee that Georgia has been ranked fifth in the nation for domestic overnight visitation for four consecutive years and said the states tourism team now markets year‑round to more distant markets across the United States.

The update outlined several headline numbers the division provided to lawmakers: 71 million visitors in 2023; about $43 billion spent in hotels, restaurants, transportation and local businesses; nearly $80 billion in total economic impact; and more than 463,000 jobs supported. Jay also said business travel accounted for about 16.4 million trips that generated roughly $4.3 billion in spending in 2023, and that preliminary 2024 figures show an increase of nearly 10 million business travelers and roughly $1 billion more in spending compared with 2022.

"We have been the number 5 rank ranked in the nation for domestic overnight visitation," Jay said, summarizing the departments recent performance.

Why it matters: Tourism is one of Georgias largest industries and is closely tied to hotels, restaurants, convention business and outdoor recreation across the state. The division emphasized that continued marketing investment and regional partnerships are central to capturing both domestic and international visitors.

Items and initiatives described to the committee included: - Promotion and distribution of the Georgia travel guide (the division said it prints 500,000 copies annually and distributes them at nine interstate visitor centers); - Two additions to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail for 2025: the Madam C.J. Walker Museum and WERD Studio in Atlanta, announced during the meeting as accepted additions to the trail; - The Georgia-led America 250 Commission, described as a partnership with Georgia Humanities and the Georgia Historical Society; the division said an "US250" website is live to help local planning and programming; - International marketing efforts and top inbound markets (listed by the division as Canada, the U.K., India, Germany and South Korea); - Positioning for soccer events, including FIFA club matches scheduled in Atlanta in 2025: the Metro Atlanta Chamber, cited by the presenter, projected more than $500 million in economic impact from eight matches and about 520,000 attendees, with average attendance estimates near 65,000 per match.

Committee follow-up: When Representative Barry asked for a fuller estimate of the World Cup and Super Bowl impacts in his district, Jay said he would get detailed figures from the departments research team and partners, including the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The division also noted planning for the governors tourism conference in Savannah in September and thanked local partners for hosting. The presentation closed by pointing to continued work on sports marketing and an online tool to help local sports commissions assess and recruit tournaments.

The presentation consisted of staff briefing and discussion; no formal vote or committee action was recorded on the transcript.