NPS Funding Letter Deadline Extended | Great Idea from Georgia for a Tourism Strategy
The House Appropriations Committee has scheduled a mark up of the Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for Tuesday, July 22 and the deadline for signing the letter urging committee members to do more to support our national parks, programs, staff has been extended to 9 am on Monday, July 21. I know short deadlines are tough for a lot of you but we want to be sure the letter is delivered well before the mark up. I am attaching the draft letter below. Please let me know if your organization would like to sign on.
Current signers, include:
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Atomic Heritage Foundation
Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks
East Bay Regional Park District
Friends of Acadia
Friends of the Apostle Islands
Friends of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters
Friends of Saguaro National Park
The Fund for People in Parks
Friends of Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
National Parks Conservation Association
National Tour Association
Partnership for National Trails System
Public Lands Alliance
Sierra Club
The Shenandoah National Park Trust
United States Tour Operators Association
Voyageurs Conservancy
Washington Trails Association
With the Administration and Congress dismantling many of the programs that tourism communities rely on and some states looking to significantly cut funding for local tourism offices — I’m looking at you Florida — it was great to see Georgia stepping up and establishing a new Senate study commission to develop new strategies to promote and expand tourism across all regions of Georgia. Or as the legislation puts it to make Georgia the number one state for tourism.
The committee's objective is to frame Georgia as a national tourism leader, leveraging assets like its top-tier airport, culinary landscape, vibrant music scene, rich history, and picturesque natural surroundings. Looking to leverage all of the Georgia’s tourism resources the committee is comprised of 5 Senators:
1 from the Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs
1 from the Committee on Economic Development & Tourism
1 from the Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment
2 selected for interest in and experience in tourism
This is a great way to educate both state and federal legislators on the diversity of the tourism sector and its economic importance while laying out a unified strategy for the years ahead.
The committee is charged with producing a report by its sunset date of December 1, 2025. With Georgia’s rich and diverse tourism resources, coming up with ideas and meeting the deadline should not be a problem.
For those looking to do something similar in their states, I am attaching a copy of the legislation, which was approved unanimously