KSU expert: Tourism in Cobb responsible for $3 billion, 35,000 jobs
Sep. 30—KENNESAW — Tourism and hospitality is responsible for 35,000 jobs and an economic impact of $3 billion in Cobb County, according to Tyler Reinagel, Kennesaw State University's associate vice president of economic development.
Reinagel shared those statistics at KSU's first of four community-focused forums meant to demonstrate Cobb's impact to Georgia's tourism industry. Statewide, the industry brings in $40 billion annually. Thursday's inaugural Campus to Community Forum was about connecting the work being done on campus to that in the broader Cobb community, Reinagel said, with a focus on tourism in Cobb, metro Atlanta and across Georgia.
The forum featured Leonard Jackson, director of KSU's hospitality management program; Kim Franz, Cobb Travel & Tourism Director of Programs and Events; and Dale Kaetzel, recently retired president of Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags White Water.
With COVID, the industry took a big hit, and discussion about workforce challenges that ensued came up during the forum.
"In general the hospitality industry is struggling," Franz said.
Franz noted that while Cobb Travel & Tourism did not take big hits to staffing in the past two years, companies the group partners with have.
"Our goal at Cobb Travel & Tourism is to help our partners to get that talent and to give them opportunities to showcase what they have and what they can do in terms of tourism and hospitality for the county," she said.
From that, Franz encouraged students to think outside the box in how they approach future career opportunities in the industry. She said they should consider applying to companies that partner with local visitor bureaus and destination marketing organizations.
The forum's speakers also noted that the industry is constantly changing, and adapting in the wake of COVID-19 remains a challenge.
"Perceptions of service have changed," Jackson said, adding that the hospitality industry has begun to embrace more technology to deliver services. "As an industry, we've always been backward with technology, so now we're trying to find a way to embrace high-touch with high-tech."
Jackson said KSU's hospitality students are driven to build careers that open opportunities like those offered throughout Cobb and across the state. While they may not know what exactly they want to do, the tourism and hospitality industry is expansive enough that everyone has the chance to find what most suits their interests.
To help them build those careers, students have already gotten to work around Cobb.
Hope Lemaster, a KSU senior from Calhoun studying hospitality management, said she has come to consider Cobb County home during her four years at school. She works at the Renaissance Atlanta Waverly Hotel, adjacent to the Cobb Galleria Centre.
"I came here and I fell in love with (Cobb) just because of the family atmosphere it has, and I feel like that is represented in the hospitality field," Lemaster said.
Katrina Brown, also a senior hospitality management major, is from Woodstock. After the talk, she said that Cobb emphasizes tourism and travel more than Cherokee County, something she has observed while working as a guest service agent at the Springhill Suites near Truist Park.
"And I know just working in the industry here too, you can tell it's something different ... it's ever-changing, it's very dynamic, it's always on top of major ... trends or changes in the economy, so I think it's a good place."
