Personnel from the City of Ellijay, Gilmer County government and others were given recommendations on how to increase Ellijay’s tourism potential during an Oct. 1 presentation at the Piedmont Community Center.
The session resulted from a four-woman research team from Explore Georgia, formerly the state Department of Tourism and Economic Development, visiting Ellijay in June to devise a tourism product recommendation plan.
Team members Cindy Eidson and Tracie Sanchez, both of Explore Georgia; Tina Lilly, of the Georgia Council for the Arts and Jennifer Lewis, of the University of Georgia College of Environment and Design, took turns reviewing the final master document that includes suggestions on how to enhance and generate tourism in areas including outdoor recreation, the arts and cultural heritage.
“Downtown Ellijay is rocking. It’s beautiful and you have some great things going on here,” Eidson told those in attendance.
Team report findings
The team’s report states that, since 2010, Georgia Tourism, a division of the Department of Economic Development, has provided technical assistance to more than 70 communities via the tourism product development resource team program.
Through the program, groups of tourism professionals, community developers and content experts visit communities to evaluate the potential for innovative and unique experiences, the report reads.
Suggestions given for improving outdoor recreation tourism in Ellijay include creating a greenway, or “rail to trail,” option where a man-made walking path that follows an abandoned railroad line connects popular outdoor sites and businesses.
Sanchez referenced the Firefly Trail in Athens as an example.
“It’s 39 miles (through) three counties and eight municipalities. It’s been a grassroots effort for 10 years and now it’s rolling full steam ahead,” she said of the trail that connects Athens-Clarke, Oglethorpe and Greene counties.
“One of the things we like to (suggest) is becoming a hub,” Sanchez added. “By that I mean the core and the spokes that come out of it. A person lands in your community and says, ‘Look at all I can do. I can get on the water, get in the woods and go on the trails.’”
“Owning,” or promoting, such distinctive titles as Georgia’s Mountain Biking Capital can make a difference when it comes to increasing tourism, Sanchez noted.
“The Cartecay Bike Shop was the only place we saw it noted this is the mountain biking capital. You (have to) take what you have and put it out there. Let people know it and talk about it,” she added.
Focusing on arts-related tourism, Lilly recommended Ellijay branding itself an “arts community.” The special designation has benefited such cities as Berea and Paducah, Ky., she added.
Lilly also reinforced the importance, in today’s digital world, of cities having a well-maintained Instagram page that highlights local attractions, activities and photo opportunities.
“The arts are integrated in all the things we’re talking about. The arts are important for a whole lot of reasons, but the one I’ll point out here is money,” she added.
“The average attendee at an arts event spends approximately $31. You might go out to eat, pay a babysitter and maybe have a drink afterward. The way it breaks down is local audiences are at $23, but tourists are at $47. That’s more than double that they will spend if coming over county lines, which is why you want these folks to come.”
Recommendations specific to downtown Ellijay include creating more pop-up, or short-term retail, shops in vacant storefronts and recognizing the value of registered historic sites as both assets and potential tourist attractions.
“Work with the state Historic Preservation Division to nominate and form new National Historic Register listings for individual properties and historic districts. Many historic properties and neighborhoods within the cities and county hold enough historic value to be considered for district listings,” the team recommended.
John Marshall, Gilmer Chamber board chairman, said, it’s beneficial to have fresh eyes looking at the community and suggesting ways to enhance, refine and broaden visitors’ experiences.
“The Chamber will use the information that was developed by the tourism team to continue to work collaboratively with the City (of Ellijay) to market our attractions. We will follow the lead of city officials to facilitate the recommendations this outstanding team has made,” he added.
Big economic impact
Visitor spending in Gilmer County has generated up to $35 million annually, the report states.
The research team noted the annual economic impact of tourism throughout the state is more than $66 billion annually and $27 billion is spent on just outdoor activities.
“That (includes) buying gear, camping fees, fishing licenses and doing mountain biking. All those things are in the outdoors. It really adds up,” said Sanchez.