Visit Athens says tourism is growing, cautions about downtown hotel room shortfall

Katie Williams, speaking for Visit Athens, framed destination marketing as a driver of economic development and said the community’s tourism metrics show growing demand. She cited 2024 figures from the Georgia Department of Economic Development and told the commission that "tourism was generating nearly half $1,000,000,000 industry," adding that tourism reduces the county tax burden by an estimated $600 per household.

Williams outlined Visit Athens’ FY27 budget plan: the organization is funded by a dedicated hotel‑motel tax allocation for destination marketing (31% of total collections, projected at $2.1 million) and anticipates roughly $2.4 million total when housing bureau profit is included. She said marketing and sales — paid advertising, partnerships and trade shows — are the largest line items and stressed efforts to fill room nights for higher‑value groups (56,000 future contracted room nights cited) and to track the economic impact of events.

Commissioners asked about hotel capacity downtown. Williams and staff estimated about 2,000 hotel rooms in Athens and said prior losses (Holiday Inn, Courtyard, Graduate) removed approximately 120 rooms at one point; separate studies cited a shortfall of roughly 300 rooms in the downtown area. Williams said short‑term rentals have helped fill the gap but that appropriate hotel development remains important to attracting large conventions.

Why it matters: Tourism revenue and hotel inventory directly affect the dedicated tax base that funds Visit Athens and related marketing efforts. Commissioners will weigh those revenue projections and room‑inventory constraints when finalizing FY27 allocations.

Materials for the presentation and data notes were placed in the shared folder for commissioners to review; no funding vote occurred at the session.