The Tourism Development Alliance of Georgia's 2008 Policy Priorities Include:

Clarify the language in the Georgia code that covers the acceptable uses of the Georgia Hotel/Motel Tax

Alliance Position: Support

Course of Action: Advocate

Background: Each county and municipality in Georgia can levy and collect an excise tax for the rental of guest rooms in hotels, motels, inns, tourist cabins and lodges. This tax was originally intended to create a revenue stream for local governments to invest in the ongoing promotion of tourism, conventions, and trade shows. There are 23 versions of the tax code, and it has become increasingly cumbersome. TDAG supports legislation to 1)grandfather existing tax structures; 2)provide 1 clean code section which provides some flexibility for local governments for tourism product development; 3)provide a sunset clause for bond projects; 4)provide enabling legislation which is authorized through local act of the Georgia General Assembly; 5)move the definitions to the front of the code section and 6)eliminate the extended stay exemption.

Increase funding, from $5 million to $15 Million, for the tourism division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development to advertise, market and promote Georgia as a tourist destination

Alliance Position: Support

Course of Action: Advocate

Background: Tourism is economic development. Thanks to the support of the General Assembly, the Tourism Division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) has received incremental increases in funding for tourism advertising and promotion over the last 5 years. This acknowledgement of tourism’s role as a viable economic development strategy for the state is a good first step, but our work is not complete.

Georgia has the 8th largest tourism economy in the country. Every state that directly competes with Georgia invests 25% to 100% more than Georgia. Based on the results of the 2006 study by Marketing Workshops, the multiplier for increased advertising investment is $7.74 in additional state tax dollars for every dollar spent on advertising. An increase of $10 million would generate $75 Million in additional state tax revenue.

• HB 451 – The Tourism Development Act

Alliance Position: Support

Course of Action: Advocate

Background: Tourism has been identified as one of the 6 strategic industries for Georgia’s economic growth. Tourism has been added to the allowable definitions for some incentives, but the current criteria prohibit tourism development from qualifying for many of these programs. The pro formas of many successful tourism development projects have demonstrated that the length of time to reach profitability would have excluded these projects from the state’s traditional economic development incentives. However, these same projects clearly provide an immediate, positive return for the residents of the community, as well as for the local & state governments. These returns come in the form of jobs created, sales & excise taxes generated and increased quality of life tourism developments tend to bring to a community.

HB 451 provides an incentive for developers of qualified tourism projects to invest the capital to make these tourism projects a reality in Georgia, with a special emphasis placed on land use and product re-development. Under this model, the developer would receive up to 25% of the capital investment back in state sales tax reimbursements. The reimbursement schedule varies by the scope of the initial investment. These projects must meet certain criteria and be approved by GDEcD.

Comprehensive Study of the School Calendar and its impact on education, family environments, work force development, tourism and the economy

Alliance Position: Support

Course of Action: State Position

Background: Tourism and Education intersect on a number of levels – impacts from summer travel, workforce development and training programs, and the quality of life aspects afforded by tourism. Our education system must focus on academic achievement, as well as the needs of students and their families. Any changes regarding education policy must clearly demonstrate the benefit to the students and must be balanced with the economic vitality of the state.

As the educational professionals around the state work to enhance the academic achievement of our children, Georgia’s tourism industry encourages all parties involved to collaborate and build consensus on a system of education that ensures academic excellence while fostering economic prosperity. The tourism industry recommends that monies be allocated to commission a study on the school calendar that addresses the societal issues, as well as the impact on workforce development and the economy.

Develop a nationally recognized hospitality curriculum for Georgia’s technical schools

Alliance Position: Support

Course of Action: State Position

Background: Georgia has been a national leader in programs designed to promote economic development in traditional industries such as manufacturing and distribution.  Incentive programs like Quickstart , Research and Development and others have attracted thousands of jobs to our state.  However, tourism, Georgia’s second largest industry, has been excluded from these programs.

The private sector’s capital investment in tourism is often in excess of $130 million for one given project.  One of the largest issues these investors face is qualified workforce candidates in the region.  The state needs to develop the necessary programs to allow Georgians to qualify for these jobs, and so that our business community will not have to import employees from other states.

Tourism businesses struggle every day with finding qualified employees.  Georgia needs to develop an industry-tested, research-driven hospitality training.  There are a number of great programs around the state in our technical schools.  The Tourism Alliance supports expanding these programs to other schools around the state to develop a nationally recognized hospitality curriculum.  Additionally, the tourism industry supports a commensurate increase to DTAE’s budget to insure the department has the resources necessary to accomplish its expanded mandate.