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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2008
Hospitality Highway, the official name for Georgia Highway 400, was recognized during the Southeast Tourism Society (STS) annual fall meeting, September 5-7, with the Society’s Shining Example Award for the Travel Attraction of the Year. Currently spanning two travel regions and including seven Georgia communities, Hospitality Highway began as the brainchild of Janet Rodgers (Alpharetta CVB) and Dotty Etris (Roswell CVB) in 2005, as an effort to draw visitors from their normal route of interstate travel through Georgia, letting them discover what lies beyond the highways and encouraging overnight stays in hotels along the route. On July 30, 2007, Governor Sonny Perdue signed into legislation Georgia 400 as the state’s official “Hospitality Highway”.
“Every year, the STS recognizes an entity as the ‘Travel Attraction of the Year’. Hospitality Highway is this year’s award recipient and is a wonderful example of how communities can work together; Hospitality Highway is also unique in that the partners created the attraction themselves,” said Bill Hardman, President and CEO of STS.
Hospitality Highway partners, include Janet Rodgers, President and CEO of the Alpharetta CVB, Kym Hughes, Sandy Springs Hospitality and Tourism, Dotty Etris, Roswell CVB, Mary Helen McGruder, Cumming/Forsyth Chamber of Commerce, Marty Williams, Dawsonville CVB, Hal Williams, Dahlonega CVB and the Georgia Department of Economic Development. In 2008, Garth Peters, from the Buckhead Coalition, joined Hospitality Highway, which now encompasses all areas that line the full length of Georgia 400.
“Partnerships are powerful. This is the perfect example of what a community can do when they put forth the effort to work as a facilitator with other communities who share the Georgia 400 corridor. To the entire Hospitality Highway Committee, I say, ‘Job well done!’” commended Governor Sonny Perdue.
”We are honored to receive this award that recognizes the vision we share when we created this project,” commented Janet Rodgers, President and CEO of the Alpharetta CVB.
“With five additional communities joining the effort, it has truly been a partnership that has worked hand-in-hand to achieve the goals that resulted in the Shining Example award,” said Dotty Etris, Hospitality Highway partner and Executive Director of the Roswell CVB.
Shaped like a lantern, the “Shining Example Award” from the STS recognizes
the “Travel Attraction of the Year”.
Hospitality Highway information can be obtained via each of the partners websites and through a single shared website which helps visitors plan their trip without having to leave the site. Website reports from www.hospitalityhighway.com show that over 15,900 pages were accessed by travelers. Two brochures, numerous ads, familiarization tours and several press releases have increased awareness of Hospitality Highway. Signs posted by the Georgia Department of Transportation on all state roads leading to GA 400, along with those at the entry to each partner city, identify them as a “Hospitality Highway Community” and help market and brand the promotion. In 2008, the program was selected by the Georgia Dept of Economic Development and the University of Georgia New Media Institute as a prototype for new tourism technology. Social media outlets were created using downloadable technology and virtual reality programs including pod casts, Second Life, IPDF and vod casts, among others.
“It was a pleasure to work with the committee on supplemental signage for State Route 400 following its designation as Hospitality Highway. Dotty Etris, of Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Janet Rodgers, of the Alpharetta CVB, remained involved through sign design, location selection, and installation as signage decisions were made. Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) is proud to have partnered with the Hospitality Highway committee to advance tourism in Georgia,” said Kathy Bailey, Assistant State Traffic Engineer for the Georgia DOT Transportation Management Center.
The Hospitality Highway committee will continue to market, advertise and promote the highway locally, regionally and nationally through traditional means such as print advertising and also through new, cutting-edge technologies like having a presence in the world of social media and online.
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