Tourism officials claim Six Flags brought $372M into Cobb in 2017
Six Flags has tourism officials screaming and they aren’t even on rollercoasters.
The theme park had an estimated economic impact of $371.9 million in Cobb County for 2017, according to an analysis Cobb Travel & Tourism announced Wednesday.
In 2013, that number was $175 million, which makes this year’s impact a 53 percent increase since then.
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When asked how the Cobb tourism agency arrived at that number, spokeswoman Lindsey Burruss said the Destinations International Impact Calculator.
She said it uses 10 different data sources to compile the number.
The calculation includes both Six Flags Over Georgia and Six Flags White Water, but it also includes whenever park guests stay at hotels, go out to eat, buy gas, go shopping and other purchases.
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“It includes all of those multiplying effects of the places that visitors spend their money in the county,” she said.
The agency said tourism is Cobb’s leading industry with $3.05 billion in economic impact and supporting more than 35,000 jobs in 2016.
And before the Atlanta Braves came to town with their baseball stadium and massive mixed-use facility with adjoining hotel, there was Six Flags.
About the Author
Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.
