On Wednesday, October 30, Visit Macon proudly announced the 2024 recipients of its “Tourism Awards” at the 42nd anniversary Annual Celebration & Awards Ceremony at the Museum of Arts & Sciences.  It was also an opportunity to celebrate the organizational successes reflected in the work accomplished over this past year with many partners of industry. 

In 2023, Macon+Bibb’s tourism industry is proud to announce:

• For 2023, we saw 4.7 million overnight trips and 7 million day trips to Macon.

• Visitors spent $458.3 million in Macon-Bibb County, which is an increase of 2.1% over the prior year.

• We saw another record hotel-motel tax collection last year, with just over $6.1 million in collections. That’s a nearly 3% increase year over year.

• For every dollar spent at a hotel property by visitors, an additional $4.13 is spent in our community.

• The tax dollars that visitors bring to the community save the average household $583 on their tax bill. More importantly though, taking away the visitor economy would cost each household an additional $7,705 per year!

• We saw 68 pieces of coverage about Macon in the press - more than one per week!

• That coverage has a value of more than $7 million and reached as many as 931 million people.

• The marketing team, with its partnership with Big Hair Productions, received the US Travel Association’s Destiny Award for Best Video at the 2024 ESTO conference. They also received a platinum Hermes award for the Macon Music Video Series as a strategic marketing initiative and a gold Hermes award for video for its Grant’s Lounge episode.

The (4) tourism awards honoring these leaders in tourism advocacy include the Otis Hughes Tourism Spirit Award, the B.J. Cain Top-of-the-Line Award, the Steven Fulbright Soul of Macon Award and – the newest addition to the distinctions –.the Macon Partner of the Year Award. 

The B. J. Cain Top of the Line Award recognizes someone who works directly with visitors at an attraction, restaurant or hotel; has been employed there for a minimum of six months; goes above and beyond the call of duty to provide exemplary experiences for guests and visitors; and maintains a professional attitude and appearance at all times. 

Ivy Dockery of the Tubman Museum was the recipient of that award. Ivy “is always more than willing to work with our visitors to ensure they have the best possible experience, not just in her workplace, but in the community. Ivy is often the first face people see, and the first voice they hear when they walk into the attraction where she works. The way that she engages with visitors is clear, because she loves what she does and loves where she works. She wants guests to love her workplace as much as she does and she’s going to ensure they have all that they need to do so. You see her smiling, and when you’re speaking to her on the phone, you can even hear the smile,” explained award presenter Naomi Peterson, Visit Macon’s Visitors Services Manager, at last night’s celebration.  

The Otis Hughes Tourism Spirit Award is given each year to someone in the Macon-Bibb community who has contributed significantly to Macon’s tourism industry and product; and has given unending time, talent and skill to support Macon’s tourism industry and the growth of the industry.

Vice President of the Visit Macon Board of Directors, Emily Hopkins said, “It is an honor to introduce the 2024 award winner, and to do so, I’m going to read a few of my own words from the nomination I submitted.

“As a leader, business owner, and dedicated advocate for Macon, our winner has worked tirelessly to elevate Macon’s tourism profile and attract diverse audiences to our vibrant community. Our winner is a visionary whose work ethic is unmatched. He brings creative solutions to challenges in our community. One of the best examples of this is his role in founding Macon Pride, an initiative that has significantly improved downtown Macon’s cultural diversity, inclusiveness, and sense of community. Through his leadership, the event has drawn countless visitors to downtown and has fostered a positive environment where people from all walks of life feel welcome and engaged.” 

Scott Mitchell was the recipient of the Otis Hughes Tourism Spirit Award. He also serves as a member of NewTown Macon’s Main Street board, and has been instrumental in planning, executing and bringing creativity and strategic thinking to our events, ensuring they not only attract visitors but serve the downtown business community. 

“As the owner of two thriving businesses, the Bohemian Den & Sweet Eleanor’s, he understands how to create unique experiences that draw locals and visitors alike to an even more attractive downtown Macon.” continued Hopkins.

Previous award winners, Alex Morrison, of the Urban Development Authority and Kaitlynn Kressin, of Fall Line Brewery, presented Visit Macon’s Steven Fulbright Soul of Macon Award in memory of colleague and friend Steven Fulbright. “What makes someone a recipient of the Steven Fulbright Soul of Macon Award isn’t perfectly defined. Rather, it is something that you just feel and know. One of the best things Steven did was to say yes to a request, and then figure out how to get to yes.”

Emily Hopkins of NewTown Macon & Main Street was that recipient. “Emily exudes a deep love and connection with Macon.” presented Morrison. “She is one of Macon’s biggest cheerleaders. And it is someone who often works behind the scenes, builds a team, and shares with them a passion for making Macon an even greater place.”

“Steven was involved in a lot. This year’s winner is also involved in a lot.” explained Kressin. “Her bio is extensive. Her involvement is extensive. And I don’t want to tip you off by listing all of her involvements, but just know that personally and professionally, her soul is Macon. And she’s someone who CHOSE Macon… or as our friend DSTO Moore says… someone Macon chose. 2024 was an incredible one for Macon. One of the most - to use a Steven word here - remarkable things that happened to Macon was through an effort that our award-winner led. With all due respect to others in the room, I dare say the accomplishment [2024 Great American Main Street Award] would not have been possible had it not been for her.”

Visit Macon also proudly announced two new awards. The 2024 Hotel of the Year Award was given to the Hilton Garden Inn, and its 2024 Restaurant of the Year Award recipient as H&H Restaurant.

Lastly, the Macon Partner of the Year Award, recognizes those who contribute to the tourism product in Macon in significant ways. Those can be organizations and people who we work with, sometimes daily, whose efforts make it easier for Visit Macon to bring visitors – and the economic impact those visitors bring – to our community. The award recipient is Knight Foundation.

According to Gary Wheat of Visit Macon,“Knight Foundation’s impact on Visit Macon has been extremely positive, and I could spend quite a bit of time outlining how much they’ve done for all of Macon. Lynn (Murphey) is a regular visitor in my office, and she came to me inquiring about marketing. I told her right away that a complete website redesign would be our big fish. And through the support of the Knight Foundation, we were able to reel in that big fish.”

“We updated our website last October. It was a painstaking process, but one that has led to a website that is now a show piece for the company that developed it for us. They’re showing Macon to our counterparts from all over the country, and we’re the envy of many destination marketing organizations. It isn’t just that it looks great, which it does. We saw a 287.4% increase in users following the launch, and active engagement time on the site has increased 76%. So we are telling our story better, for longer, to more people. We had over 1 million user sessions since the launch. We implemented a chatbot that fielded nearly 2000 conversations and saved 57 staff hours. And we have a hotel booking solution attached, which has generated revenue… that goes directly to the hotel.” 

“Knight Foundation works with us in so many other ways, and in every instance, they’re a true partner in every sense of the word.” 

For more information, please contact Visit Macon’s Chief Operating Officer, Aaron Buzza, at (478) 743-1074 x114 or email [email protected].