June 2017                                                                                     Like us on Facebook  Follow us on Twitter   
Summer is always an exciting time of year - seeing the summer vacation travelers, tracking advertising performance, seeing new product come online, and implementing many of our sales initiatives. This year, summer also brings some transitions in our staff team. We are at once sad and excited to lose Chris Cannon from the team. After five terrific years, first as a Tourism Product Manager and more recently as an integral part of our Product Development Team, Chris has accepted an opportunity to return home to Abingdon, Virginia, as Executive Director of the Southwest Virginia Cultural Heritage Foundation. It's a terrific opportunity for him, but we are so sad to lose him.

At the same time, I am extremely excited to let you know that we have at last filled our Division Director position with the perfect candidate. Lisa Love will return to our full-time staff in this new role on July 1. Lisa brings a ton of terrific experience, having steered the team at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame through some incredibly difficult waters, then starting up the state's first music marketing initiative just as we launched into our Year of Georgia Music. In her new role, she will act as a sort of "Chief Operating Officer" for the Tourism Division. I know that those of you who know Lisa will be thrilled, and those who don't yet know her will thoroughly enjoy getting to know and work with her. There's much to celebrate here in Georgia this summer!

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Top News Items from Georgia Tourism

  1. Registration is open for Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference, Sept. 10-13, Jekyll Island
    Make plans to attend Georgia's largest annual gathering of tourism professionals Sept. 10-13, 2017, at the Jekyll Island Convention Center. Register today to join more than 500 of the state's top tourism professionals at this once-a-year event. Register by July 14, 2017, and receive a $30 discount from the regular full registration price!

  2. Georgia Tourism releases 2017 culinary guide, Georgia Eats
    The 2017 state culinary guide, Georgia Eats, is now now available! Georgia Tourism's third annual culinary guide features the wildly popular 100 Plates Locals Love, 10 flavor tours,  inspiring feature stories, exclusive recipes from local chefs, popular food festivals and much more. Read more about it on Marketgeorgia.org and order your copy today on Exploregeorgia.org.

  3. 2017 Tourism Foundation Match Program Deadline June 26
    The Georgia Tourism Foundation is proud to announce the 2017 Marketing Monetary Match Program that is being made available to all Georgia Tourism partners. For every dollar that you invest into this advertising program, the foundation will match it with a dollar. Buy Authorization Forms are due June 26, 2017, at noon. Review the program information, and download your form today!

  4. Year of Georgia Film campaign exceeding social media expectations
    Explore Georgia's social media agency, redpepper, has been working with Katie Christof and Parker Whidby on the Year of Georgia Film social media strategy this calendar year. The agency recently reviewed the results of our social media efforts in January, February and March and we're off to a great start! View the full report on MarketGeorgia.org.

  5. Advertise on ExploreGeorgia.org and the Email Newsletter
    Georgia tourism partners can advertise on ExploreGeorgia.org, the state's official tourism website, which reaches more than 4.53 million unique visitors as they plan their visits to Georgia. Tourism partners can also advertise in Georgia's tourism e-newsletter to reach a laser-targeted, opt-in audience of Georgia tourism enthusiasts twice monthly. Find pricing and contact information on MarketGeorgia.org, and reserve your ad spots today for the summer and fall travel seasons.

  6. Georgia Tourism staff spotlight: Lindsay Isaacs
    Lindsay joined Georgia Tourism in September 2012 to manage content on ExploreGeorgia.org and MarketGeorgia.org, and their companion email newsletters. She loves showing off the tremendous variety of things to see and do in her home state through the website and email. She also enjoys helping partners promote their events and destinations online, and working with writers to showcase trip ideas and help visitors plan their very best trips to the Peach State. In her free time, she likes to run, try new foods and visit the places she learns about through ExploreGeorgia.org. Have a guest blog idea? Send it to Lindsay at lisaacs@georgia.org!

Mark your calendar for these upcoming tourism events
  1. June 23: Georgia on My Mind Day - Ringgold VIC
  2. June 30: Georgia on My Mind Day - West Point VIC
  3. July 14: Georgia on My Mind Day - Augusta VIC
  4. Sept. 10-13: Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference, Jekyll Island

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