Tourism, Sports Tourism Both Make Big Impact On Dalton

Friday, May 24th, 2024

Tourism is making a big impact on the local economy in Dalton and Whitfield County. Sports tourism, in particular, is a growing market that is helping local officials bring in tax dollars from visitors. 

Those were the big takeaways from a recent presentation by Margaret Thigpen, the Tourism Director for the Dalton-Whitfield Convention and Visitors Bureau. Thigpen presented some updated tourism statistics to a group of Dalton and Whitfield County officials and stakeholders recently at an afternoon reception at The Carpentry Hotel downtown. 

Caption: Margaret Thigpen (standing, at right) speaks to local leaders about the latest tourism statistics for Dalton and Whitfield County

Sports ETA (Events and Tourism Association), a trade organization based in Ohio, recently published statistics breaking down the impact of sports-related tourism in the United States. The state of Georgia ranked 9th in the nation for economic impact by sports tourism. Dalton and Whitfield County are a growing destination for sports tourism, with both youth and adult tournaments for sports being hosted nearly every weekend throughout the year. Some tournaments bring visitors from around the state or region, while others bring in visitors from across the country. This week, for example, the Dalton Golf and Country Club is hosting the NAIA Men's Golf National Championship Tournament. 

"I think (Georgia being ranked 9th) speaks to what is a special niche market for our community thanks to the City’s Parks and Recreation and thanks to the County’s Parks and Recreation. Thanks to Varnell, Cohutta, the entire community plays a role in that," Thigpen said. "So we’re excited about that. Sports tourism doesn’t go unnoticed.... we’re really putting Georgia, but most importantly Whitfield County and Dalton on the map."

Thigpen noted that tourism of all types and purposes are adding up to be big business for Dalton and Whitfield County. According to statistics from 2022, the latest available, tourism spending in Whitfield County amounted to $162.7 million and created 1,438 jobs locally. That paved the way for the collection of $13.9 million in state and local tax dollars and $8.7 million in federal tax dollars. 

"What that means for us that live in Whitfield County, we would each have to pay $394 dollars more in local taxes without the tourism impact in our community," Thigpen said. "If you want to take it a step further, for Georgia state taxes, we’d have to pay $1,202 more. As far as our federal taxes, we'd have to pay $1,098 more. So, with that said, tourism impacts as a whole you and I as citizens but also our community as a whole."

Click here for more statistics on local tourism and sports tourism