Tourism boosts Columbia County

Columbia County's two largest communities - Martinez and Evans - were nixed from the official state map this year, but officials say the area was still able to have one of its best tourism years.

"I think this was one of the better years,'' said Beda Johnson, the director of Columbia County's Convention and Visitors Bureau.

That meant more money for business owners and the county's tax coffers in 2006. County officials say even more visitors and more spendable income are expected in the coming year because some of the same bass fishing and other sports tournaments have again been scheduled for 2007.

"We are planning at least that many, if not more, major tournaments for next year,'' Ms. Johnson said.

Ms. Johnson said that in 2006, bass fishing and other sporting tournaments brought an estimated $750,000 economic benefit to the county, mostly to business owners. She said $42,916 in sales taxes and about $6,300 in county hotel-motel taxes, which can be used for tourism purposes, were collected.

Ms. Johnson said officials hope that with more sporting tournaments in the county next year, including bass fishing, archery and soccer, the county will see an even greater economic benefit.

Ms. Johnson said the county is also seeing higher numbers at the gatekeepers cottage and visitors center next to the Savannah Rapids Pavilion. She said that from January to November, 13,978 people made their way to the visitors center, an increase of 2,300 from the comparable period in 2005.

"It's the history of the (Augusta Canal) headgates,'' she said in explaining what attracts people to the visitors center. "We had a couple from Venezuela today.''

One tourism-related issue Ms. Johnson said she is looking to combat next year is the omission of Martinez and Evans from the Georgia Department of Transportation's 2006 and 2007 map.

DOT officials said they deleted nearly 500 communities that either were small or unincorporated to make the map more legible.

Ms. Johnson said she feels the omission of Martinez and Evans likely hampered tourism efforts. In the coming year, she'll attempt to counteract the omission by going to various visitors centers throughout the state, offering a Columbia County day during which visitors will be given information touting the county.

"That's the plan we've formulated since we realized we were not on the map,'' she said.