The Liberty County Convention & Visitors Bureau (LCCVB) recently released Liberty County’s tourism statistics for Fiscal Year 2017 as reported by the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
The state reports are generated each calendar year, therefore in 2017, Liberty County’s tourism industry supported 608 jobs and generated $116.12 million in direct travel spending, an increase of over $31 million since 2009.
As much as $4.98 million was generated in state tax revenues and $3.65 million was generated in local tax revenues. Each household in Liberty County received $373 in tax relief as a result of the taxes generated by direct travel spending. The newly released statistics rank Liberty County No. 31 out of 159 counties in the state of Georgia, in the top 20 percent.
“We’re pleased to see that visitor spending in Liberty County is continuing in an upward trend,” said LCCVB CEO, Leah Poole. “The information we receive each year acknowledges the positive influence tourism has on our local economy.”
Comparatively FY 15 was $107.1 million indirect tourism spending and FY 16 was $ 111.6 million.
“Georgia’s tourism industry plays a vital role in our economy with a record-breaking $63.1 billion in business sales including direct, indirect and induced impact, and more importantly, creates more than 460,000 jobs for Georgians,” said Kevin Langston, deputy commissioner for tourism at the Georgia Department of Economic Development. “We can see the impact from tourism in every community across the state. Tourists come to our communities, leave their dollars in our businesses and government coffers, and then return home. It’s a win-win proposition.”
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts events and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. For more information, visit www.georgia.org.
For more information on the LCCVB, visit www.libertycounty.org or find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest as Explore Liberty.
The LCCVB is the official destination marketing organization for Liberty County. Our mission is to actively market Liberty County’s assets and sell the destination brand experience through targeted strategies resulting in increased visitor spending and enhanced community well-being and resident quality of life; maximizing economic impact, while providing excellent visitor service. As well as to stimulate economic development and growth, while internally ensuring our citizens have the same opportunity to discover and explore locally.