By Carol Badaracco Padgett
A consistent theme surfaced at Trilith Studios’ Guesthouse this past week at the “Shaping Georgia’s Entertainment Tourism Future” event on May 20, 2024, put on by the Entertainment Tourism Alliance of Georgia (ETAG) and Georgia Entertainment. That theme was the concept of “alignment” across communities as Georgia’s global entertainment significance continues to grow. (Official recap here.)
The idea behind aligning Georgia’s entertainment tourism efforts is this: if individual communities, municipalities, and key players prioritize getting their procedures and focus in line, everyone across the state will benefit.
In a panel called “Connecting the Dots: Entertainment & Tourism,” that followed a keynote address by business leader Pat Mitchell, chair emeritus of the Sundance Institute, moderator Lynda Smith, founder of the state’s Entertainment Tourism Alliance, led a discussion between five panelists. They included Julie Wilkerson, executive director of the Macon Arts Alliance in Macon; Laura Sullivan, tourism coordinator with the City of Covington; Andrew Wilson, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau; Anjuli King, director of domestic group tour and entertainment sales at Visit Savannah; and LaRonda Sutton, veteran Atlanta-based entertainment executive and producer.
Speaking to local Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) leaders, municipality representatives, and a host of key entertainment industry creatives looking to strengthen and streamline their efforts and businesses, Sutton urged, “Make your processes facilitatory, not regulatory.”
In other words, Sutton told attendees to keep websites, forms, permits, and other required documents straightforward for ease of business – and to make sure they’re up to date.
“Familiarize yourself with the Georgia Film Office,” Sutton added. “You really need a Film Office liaison. And get Camera-Ready.”
For Sullivan at Covington, the production grounds for CW’s Vampire Diaries series, proper alignment was characterized by ensuring balance within a community between its own needs and the needs of film and television productions. “We had to be sure to balance local needs with tourism needs downtown,” she said as one example.
The Atlanta CVB’s Wilson admitted that he finds a lack of general alignment between individual entities within metro Atlanta, stating “CVBs are competing for business.” Instead, metro cities will succeed when they rally together to try and attract business around the entertainment industry, he said.
“It’s important to understand who can do what best,” Wilson noted. “It’s not competition; it’s community.”
For Savannah’s King, entertainment industry business in the area is facilitated by making it easy for outside parties to do business in the area. “Working with the CVB is free,” she said as one example.
Macon’s Wilkerson added that consistency and planning will help Georgia’s communities shine when it comes to attracting entertainment and tourism business. “Macon is a planning community, with regular meetings [each Monday and quarterly],” she noted.
As the panel wrapped up, Sutton turned the focus to Sundance, where Savannah, Atlanta, and Athens are in the running to host the Sundance Film Festival in 2027. “Sundance is seeing how Georgia can embrace the whole,” she reminded.
Savannah’s King echoed the thought, saying this about the ultimate in alignment: “No matter who gets Sundance, if it’s in Georgia, it’s a win.”
(Official recap here.)
