ATLANTA — As the city of Atlanta prepares to celebrate the annual Cricket Celebration Bowl and enjoy some added tourism dollars, state lawmakers want to know if Georgia can do a better job promoting its tourism.
Georgia spends about $11 million on tourism marketing. Some lawmakers think the state needs to do more.
Channel 2’s Richard Elliot was live outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where the Cricket Celebration Bowl is Saturday at noon. It is nationally televised and here on Channel 2.
The bowl’s executive director thinks the state of Georgia is missing an opportunity to sell itself during that broadcast.
“Well, this is the HBCU super bowl,” said John Grant, who has been in charge of the bowl game for 10 years and knows its economic impact on Atlanta.
But he says, one thing missing on that national TV broadcast will be an ad promoting tourism in Georgia.
”However, we do have other cities outside of Georgia that are using our platform to advertise visit their state. So i think it’s an opportunity that we should really be evaluated and looked at,” Grant said.
”I mean, we’re doing this in the state of Georgia with one-and-a-half hands tied behind our backs,” said Scott Steilen, CEO of Sea Island Company.
Meanwhile, 288 miles southeast of the bowl game, Georgia lawmakers gathered at Jekyll Island to see if Georgia can do a better job funding the marketing of its tourist destinations.
the state spends only about $11 million on tourism marketing, which Cartersville Republican State Rep. Matt Gambill says is barely anything.
“But many of us are from communities that have construction projects that, it might be a fire station or public safety center or a city hall that could even run $11 million or even $20 million.”
Grant points out that other cities and states are marketing themselves during this bowl game and other games, too. And that, he thinks, is a big missed opportunity.
“We don’t tell people and use the assets that are here in the state. These are recurring properties with national broadcast platforms, but we don’t tell people to visit Georgia,” he said.
Grant said last year’s bowl game featured a lot of ads promoting visiting Mississippi.
That committee will make recommendations to the full general assembly next month.
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