With the Celebration Bowl on deck and the World Cup on the horizon, lawmakers question whether Georgia’s modest marketing spend is costing the state billions in visitor revenue.
Georgia is once again in the national spotlight, but some state leaders worry the cameras are rolling while the marketing lights stay off. As Atlanta hosts major sporting events and prepares for even bigger ones, a growing chorus at the Capitol says the state’s tourism budget may be falling short of the moment.
The debate sharpened this week as the Cricket Celebration Bowl returns to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, airing nationwide and drawing fans from across the country. For many, it feels like a test case. Are these events simply filling seats for a weekend, or could they be fueling a broader tourism surge that lasts years?
A nationally televised stage, but little state promotion
The Celebration Bowl has become a marquee event for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, blending football, culture, and national pride into a single December weekend.
This year’s matchup, once again hosted in downtown Atlanta, will beam images of the city into living rooms nationwide. Millions will see the skyline, the packed stadium, the energy. That exposure, experts say, is marketing gold.
Yet John Grant, executive director of the Celebration Bowl, says Georgia is barely tapping into it.
He points out that during last year’s broadcast, viewers saw ads promoting Mississippi’s beaches and cultural attractions, not Georgia’s mountains, coast, or small towns. The irony was hard to miss.
Grant has been blunt in recent interviews. Georgia hosts the event. Georgia benefits from hotel stays, dining, and transportation. But Georgia, at the state level, stays mostly silent during the broadcast.
One sentence sums up his frustration. The audience is already there, already watching, already engaged.
The $11 million question under the Gold Dome
At the heart of the debate is a single number. Roughly $11 million.
That is Georgia’s annual budget for statewide tourism marketing, a figure that has raised eyebrows among lawmakers from both parties.
Rep. Matt Gambill, a Republican from Cartersville, recently put the number in blunt terms during legislative discussions. Eleven million dollars, he noted, might cover a fire station or a public safety building in a midsize city. For an entire state’s tourism promotion, it feels thin.
Georgia is the eighth-most populous state in the country. It has mountains, barrier islands, world-class events, and one of the busiest airports on Earth. Critics argue the math simply does not line up.
Tourism officials privately acknowledge the challenge. Marketing dollars stretch only so far, and national ad buys during major broadcasts are expensive. Choices get made. Many opportunities pass.
One lawmaker described it as trying to whisper in a crowded stadium.
Other states are spending louder, and it shows
Georgia’s restraint becomes more visible when placed next to its competitors.
States like Florida, Tennessee, and even Mississippi routinely invest far more in tourism advertising, especially around sports and entertainment events with national reach.
Grant recalled Mississippi running multiple tourism spots during the Celebration Bowl broadcast last year. The message was clear and repeated. Come visit. Stay longer. Spend money.
Georgia, by contrast, relied mostly on organic exposure. The hope seemed to be that viewers would see Atlanta and figure the rest out on their own.
Industry analysts say that assumption is risky. Viewers respond to prompts. They respond to storytelling. They respond to being invited.
A short list of what Georgia typically leaves on the table during these moments includes:
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Ads highlighting coastal destinations like Savannah and Jekyll Island
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Messaging around food, music, and film culture
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Calls to explore beyond Atlanta’s downtown core
Each missed broadcast is not just a lost impression, critics argue. It is a lost conversion.
Big events now, even bigger ones coming fast
The timing of this debate is not accidental.
Atlanta is already a regular host of Super Bowls, college championships, and major concerts. But the future calendar raises the stakes even higher.
The city is set to be one of the host venues for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, an event expected to draw hundreds of thousands of visitors and billions in economic activity across the U.S.
Tourism experts say World Cup host cities around the globe typically spend years promoting themselves in advance. They treat the event as a gateway, not a finish line.
Georgia’s current marketing budget, some argue, does not reflect that ambition.
One tourism consultant familiar with World Cup planning put it simply. You do not wait until kickoff to tell people why they should come early and stay late.
A single sentence lingers in many discussions. The window is closing faster than it looks.
Economic stakes beyond hotels and game tickets
Tourism dollars ripple outward in ways that often escape headlines.
They support restaurant workers, rideshare drivers, museum staff, and small businesses far from stadium gates. They help rural towns that never host a bowl game but benefit when visitors extend their trips.
According to data from the Georgia Department of Economic Development, tourism already generates tens of billions in annual spending statewide and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. Even small percentage gains can mean real money.
Critics of the current budget argue that marketing is not a cost center. It is a multiplier.
They also note that Georgia has already invested heavily in infrastructure, from airport expansions to downtown revitalization. Without matching promotion, some of that investment may not deliver its full return.
One industry veteran described it as building a stage and forgetting to sell tickets.
Pressure building as lawmakers look ahead
For now, no sweeping budget overhaul has been approved. But conversations are shifting.
Several lawmakers say they expect tourism funding to come up again as the legislative session unfolds, especially with World Cup preparations accelerating and events like the Celebration Bowl highlighting contrasts with other states.
The debate is no longer about whether Georgia has something to sell. Few dispute that.
It is about whether the state is willing to speak up loudly enough when the nation is already listening.
As one Capitol observer put it quietly, opportunities like these do not repeat forever. They pass, and they remember how you treated them.
