Gov. Kemp allocates a million to revive Georgia tourism

AUGUSTA, Georgia (WRDW / WAGT) – Both the cities of Augusta and Thomson are queuing up to get some money from the state. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has just announced new grants to revitalize tourism.

Our tourism industry took a hit last year. They held the Masters without patrons, and many attractions like the Augusta Canal boat tours had to be closed for months.

“We usually have around 18,000 visitors a year, that has been cut drastically, and excursions have also been cut because the public school system has closed excursions, so that was a loss for us too,” said Julianna Shurtleff, development and outreach manager for the Augusta Canal.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the General Assembly donated $ 1 million to the state’s tourism department. Part of the money goes to our region.

The Thomson Tourism Bureau was selected to receive $ 50,000 and Destination Augusta received nearly $ 78,000.

In a statement, Destination Augusta said in part, “We are grateful to Governor Kemp, the Georgia General Assembly and Explore Georgia for this funding that will help bring visitors back to Augusta.”

They also said they will spend the money on a marketing campaign in nearby towns. It does this as the restrictions are relaxed and attractions start doing more business.

“It’s just kept going up because now people really want to get out and do things because the rules and regulations are a little looser and vaccinations are available,” Shurtleff said.

Shurtleff expects interest to continue to pick up until the end of the year.

“People are interested … they call, want to reserve seats, and I think in the fall we really hope things get back to normal with our music cruises and regular tours,” she said.

Interest increases as we get closer to normal.

We also reached out to the Thomson Tourist Office to find out how they plan to spend their scholarship. We are still waiting for feedback.

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