>> LOOKING BACK AT 2023
Executive Director of the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) Rebekah Snider presented an annual report of the agency’s activities at the Dec. 12 city council meeting.
Snider told the council that it has been the most productive financial year for the CVB and that she is looking forward to 2024.
The visitors' bureau has helped to bring in tourism and support local businesses since the 1980s. Visit Milledgeville, the bureau’s website promotes and procures leisure and group travel to Milledgeville-Baldwin County and, as a business, they partner with more than 200 local entities and businesses.
“Our hospitality industry’s largest impact for the year was the $83 million in economic impact that was contributed to the Baldwin County and Georgia economy through the more than one million people who visited Baldwin County this year,” said Snider.
According to Snider, the city also had a record year for hotels, with both average occupancy and rate up significantly. Therefore, a Lodging Feasibility Study is planned for early 2024 and will study growth potential, how to expand the present market, and whether hotel expansions may be needed.
“In the past year, we have had to displace lodging for visitors to other counties on numerous occasions due to the shortage of space so this study is a necessity to see how the county should expand,” said Snider. “The study is county-wide and results should come back in January. It will help us in the next steps on how to grow our market and avoid spacing shortages for visitors and events in the future.”
Tourism in Baldwin County accounted for $83.6 million in direct spending, a spending impact of $5.7 million in local and state tax revenue, and the support of 894 jobs. Fall was recorded as the top season for tourism with 400,000 in-market visitations.
“Visitors Bureau’s hospitality is its best service and we plan to expand it going into 2024. A lot of the tourism is impacted by the partnerships we have, the investment into the historic downtown of Milledgeville, and the promotions we do throughout the year,” said Snider.
Some of these promotions and partnerships included wedding venues and photography, the annual Burger Week event, the Small Town getaway campaign that shared imagery and compelling stories around the county, the locally-owned love campaign that promoted businesses and their stories, and much more.
Going into 2024, the bureau will be focusing on its Wayfinding & Gateway Signage Plan and a grant program to improve tourism.
In addition, they will be refreshing advertising campaigns for the new year, looking into more public relations collaborations, expanding videography highlights, and focusing on new content based around relocation while also working to grow the market in the wedding and sports industry.
“We think 2024 will be a fantastic year. We see things such as wedding and sports opportunities continuing to grow and strengthen in this market,” said Snider. “There is lots of room to grow our potential in 2024.”
The Milledgeville- Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau has made “great strides” this year as a three-person team.
They are consistently working to connect with partners and plan and improve services around the city and county. To learn more about what is happening and what the bureau is promoting visit https://www.visitmilledgeville.org/.