The tourism industry presented a check representing the $850.6 million in state tax revenue generated from tourism-related expenditures. Wilkes County Tourism Director Ashley Barnett joined members of the Georgia tourism industry in speaking to state legislators last Tuesday about the vital role tourism plays in jobs for rural Georgia.

“We were there to celebrate the significant role that tourism, the state’s second largest industry, plays in Georgia’s economy,” she said. “While we were there, we got to meet with Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and talk with him about how absolutely vital tourism is for jobs and businesses in Washington and Wilkes County, and what’s in the next state budget that could help us bring more tourists and tourism jobs here.”

The state’s latest figures indicate that tourism in Wilkes County alone carries a $2.3 million annual payroll, she said.

Stressing that tourism is a $28 billion industry in Georgia, Barnett and other regional tourism representatives used the 2010 Tourism Day at the Capitol to speak with many senators and representatives about the importance of tourism. “Senator Bill Jackson and Rep. Lee Anderson were excited to see all of us from their districts,” she said. “Rep. Mickey Channel was tied up in session and in hearings, but he knew we were there and was glad to know we were there representing our county. We wanted to make sure our representatives knew that tourism is the second-largest industry in Georgia.”

Seven representatives from Wilkes County’s tourism region, the Classic South Travel Association, were there to set up a booth in the capitol to promote tourism in the region. “It was a lot of fun,” she said. “Seven of us went to the offices of every representative and senator representing our 18 counties to remind them how vital their support of tourism is, and about the importance of funding tourism and economic development promotions.”