City tourism committee pauses new tour companies, aims to home in on industry concerns
by Evan Lasseter / SMN and SavannahNow.com
Although a midday stroll around downtown Savannah shows its share of tour companies, there likely won't be any new ones popping up for the rest of this year.
Savannah's Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC) voted at its June meeting to pause the approval of any new tour companies for the remainder of 2024, although those already in the approval process will not be impacted by the decision.
The move was pushed by neighborhood representatives on TAC in order to address ongoing quality-of-life concerns. David McDonald, president of the Downtown Neighborhood Association, hopes to see an inventory on Savannah's existing tours before the freeze on new tours is lifted.
"Why issue another license when we're concerned about the volume of tours that are impacting downtown?" McDonald said. "We're just adding more fuel to the fire adding another tour ... It just didn't seem right."
City of Savannah spokesperson Josh Peacock said in an email the decision also was made to "address ongoing issues within the industry," which includes the volume of tours on the street, the number of patrons on each tour, noise levels and overall industry growth.
Michael Owens, president of Tourism Leadership Council (TLC), said in an email that taking time to understand tourism-related concerns could have benefits.
"I think there is some wisdom in a temporary pause—especially to give us all time to understand concerns related to Savannah’s successful tourism and hospitality community," Owens said in the email, adding that time was required to determine which concerns are real or perceived.
Owens said TLC's leadership is committed to a "balanced approach" to addressing concerns. TLC leadership "has always promoted responsible growth" in the region, Owens said. The Savannah area's tourism industry employs 28,000 workers, the largest single employment sector in the region.
Downtown residents began last year pushing for policy change to help quality-of-life issues, and the first update since that push came earlier this year.
Savannah City Council passed an ordinance in May this year aimed at reducing amplified sound from trolleys. The ordinance requires all trolleys be fitted with in-ear technology or directional speakers within 36 months of the ordinance's passage.
Along with an inventory of tours, McDonald also hopes the temporary pause on new companies will allow stakeholders to come up with a "framework" for the volume of tours acceptable for downtown, he said.
"We don't want any of these tour companies to be out of business; we want them to be better managed," McDonald said.
Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.
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