Thursday, February 4, 2026–2:15 p.m.
-News Release-
The Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism has released its 2025 Annual Report, revealing strong economic results for Floyd County. The report shares that visitor spending reached $149.9 million, continuing an upward trend for the local tourism industry.
According to direct visitor spending data, visitors spent $149,900,000 in Floyd County during 2024—the most recent year with available data. Travel and tourism generated a 0.7% year-over-year increase in total impact. In addition, the local tourism industry supported 1,535 jobs across the service and hospitality sectors.
Tourism contributed significantly to public revenue, generating $12.2 million in state and local taxes. Without this revenue, each Floyd County household would need to pay an additional $332 annually to replace the taxes generated by tourism activity.
Beyond overall tourism impact, the report highlights 2025 economic contributions from sports, group travel, and events directly assisted by the Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism. These efforts produced $25,960,564 in economic impact.
Major events driving this impact included the Wings Over North Georgia Air Show, USTA Southern Tri-Level Tennis Championships, Georgia Elite Classic, and multiple tennis tournaments.
- Tennis and Pickleball events accounted for 47% of the impact
- Forum River Center events contributed 21%
- Other sports events represented 18%
- Events represented 11%
“With every visitor who comes to Rome, we see a ripple effect that strengthens our community and fuels economic growth,” said Lisa Smith, Executive Director for Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism. “Tourism brings opportunities—supporting local businesses, creating jobs, and enhancing the quality of life for everyone.”
Looking ahead, the Georgia’s Rome Office of Tourism is excited to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2026 and continue attracting sports, groups, meetings, and events that generate economic benefits for the community.
2024 Economic Impact of Tourism analysis is provided by the Georgia Department of Economic Development through the Travel Impact study, prepared by Tourism Economics. It is based on multiple data sources, including the U.S. Census, STR, Longwoods International, Georgia Department of Revenue sales tax data, and employment and wage data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data for 2025 will be available in Fall 2026.
