Dublin selected as example of how to develop tourism product
June 12, 2017 Dublin, GA
Visit Dublin GA along with The City of Dublin welcomed the Georgia Department of Economic Development‘s first ever Tourism Product Development (TPD) Resource Team Workshop. Resource team leaders from 47 communities across Georgia came together in Downtown Dublin for two days to share ideas and gain insights from guest speakers and visit project sites in Dublin that were completed through the TPD Resource Team report and grant process. 
On Tuesday, June 6th, sessions kicked off in the Morris Bank Annex with an overview by Cindy Eidson, Director of Tourism Product Development, GDEcD followed by presentations by Tina Lilly, Georgia Council for the Arts, and Corinne Thornton and Cherie Bennett, Department of Community Affairs.
An afternoon presentation by Rebecca McWilliam, Director Visit Dublin GA described steps and partnerships that led to the completion of each tourism project listed in Dublin’s resource report and team visit in 2010. “What an honor to have been chosen for this workshop as Dublin has completed all the product as laid out in the teams resource report including the first phases of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument Park and the upcoming bike trail and riverwalk.”
Jeanne Cyriaque, African American Culture Specialist spoke on the rich African American history available to develop product in Dublin.
A walking tour of three sites led by McWilliam included Dublin Carnegie, which now serves as an art gallery and event venue. Recently unveiled Martin Luther King, Jr. Monument Park was the next stop in the tour, a true testament to successful partnerships. The tour closed with a visit to historic Stubbs Park, which days before was the location of Dublin’s annual music festival, DubJam.
Dinner for the evening featured a dine around which spotlighting dining options at award winning eateries Company Supply and Deano’s Italian. The day wrapped at Market on Madison with a mini version of DubJam. DubJam Remix featured live performances by Kara Evans and Sunbelt Revolution.
Wednesday, June 7th commenced with a rousing presentation by keynote speaker Joe Veneto, aka The Opportunity Guy, founder and principal of Opportunities Unlimited, a management and consulting and training company. His session included ideas and examples of how to create experiential product to captivate and engage tourists in any community.
Carrie Barnes, Georgia Electric Membership Corporation (GEMC) reviewed the sessions with an interactive presentation including input from the team leaders with ideas how to better build tourism product in each community through partnerships and vision.
Cindy Edison closed with final remarks and the workshop concluded with plans for it to continue annually in another TPD community.
For more information on tourism product development programs in Georgia, visit marketgeorgia.org.
