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Tifton’s charm draws tourists

By Chris Beckham

TIFTON — Fifteen years ago, most of Tifton’s agricultural economy was centered on the “Holy Trinity” of South Georgia crops — peanuts, cotton and tobacco. Those crops are still farmed today but at a much lower volume, and in their place, farmers are finding fortune with vegetables.

“I think the horticultural industries have become predominant,” said Dr. Terry Kelley, extension horticulturist with the University of Georgia’s Tifton campus. “Those industries have shown a tremendous growth in the last 15 years.”

Kelley added that Georgia is gaining on Florida, which has been the second-largest vegetable producing state behind California for years.

One of the advantages farmers in the Tiftarea have is the University of Georgia’s local campus. While the research that goes on there is available to farmers across the state, area farmers have the advantage of a closer look.
Tifton’s agricultural research center includes the UGA campus, the Coastal Plains Experiment Station, Abraham Baldwin College and the University of Georgia’s NESPAL (National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory.) The Technology Development Center will be the newest addition to NESPAL.

About 140 scientists, some working for UGA and others for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are engaged in ag research in Tifton.

The recently completed TDC building is expected to open in December and will house research and development branches of various companies.

Tourism Flourishing
While the local agricultural picture has changed considerably, so has Tifton’s other fastest-growing “business”. Tourism has become vital to the local economy as local officials find ways to draw visitors from the thoroughfares that dissect the town.

The town’s success in that area can be attributed to many factors, said Tyron Spearman, president of the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association, but the main reason is clear. “It’s just good old Southern hospitality,” he said.
“We’re also a destination and I can tell you, we’re envied by a lot of cities that struggle trying to do what we’re doing.”
Industry statistics from the Georgia Department of Tourism show that Tift County has 1,674 jobs related to tourism, providing $68 million annually in revenue.

The Georgia Agrirama, a living history museum in Tifton, draws many daytime and weekend visitors. But the biggest draw that excites area officials is less than two years away.
An expansion of the University of Georgia’s Tifton Campus Conference Center will make Tifton a prime location for business conferences. When the 83,000-square foot expansion is opened in early 2005, tourism is expected to boom.

“With the technology the center can provide and the facilities they have, it’s going to be a big attraction,” Spearman said. “A lot of people don’t want to fight that Atlanta traffic and they want to find a place in rural Georgia to go. We’ll be that place.”

Florence Rankin contributed to this story.