November 2025 — In an interview with Focus:, Mercedes Miller, president of ATL Airport District Convention & Visitors Bureau, highlighted the positive changes and opportunities in the area, many of which came from partnerships and social media strategy. “We put out interesting stories that pique people’s interest, so the numbers are only going to get better,” she said.

What opportunities have landed in the district over the past year?

I am both encouraged and energized by the momentum within the hospitality and destination marketing industry. Our region is on the radar for meeting planners and event producers because we have so many strengths and offerings. And with all the things coming to the Atlanta metropolitan area — FIFA, MLB, and the Super Bowl — we see heightened excitement and investment for our region, creating a great opportunity for the District. 

Our destination provides visitors with unmatched convenience through our proximity to the world’s most traveled airport, as well as a growing mix of high-quality hotels and venues. This is a destination that offers authentic local experiences alongside being a global connectivity hub. We’re focused on harvesting the upcoming opportunities and elevating the District’s profile with all the international travelers we’re going to have in the area. They’ll get to see all the great things that we have, from riding MARTA, seeing the Georgia International Convention Center (GICC), experiencing the high-end hotels, to enjoying our extensive list of restaurants providing a taste of our local flavor.

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How are you adapting to trends for group travel, meetings, and conventions?

In March of 2025, we saw our room bookings double compared to last year.  Many planners were asked to make spur-of-the-moment decisions about conventions that had been put on hold for a while, and our fully equipped team was right there to accommodate them! Facilities downtown often require longer booking windows, but our airport properties offer flexibility for short-term planning, resulting in better availability for sudden bookings.

After COVID, and being out of survival mode, expectations have shifted. We’ve realized how important it is to be face-to-face with our customers and employees. People are indeed cautious, but determined to have face-to-face gatherings. That makes a big difference for morale and supports the growing confidence in group travel, meetings, and conventions.

How would the bureau adapt its infrastructure and services to meet the increasing demand for sports tourism?

Our marketing strategy used to focus on corporations and associations, but we have expanded to accommodate increased demand. GICC has now hosted basketball games, volleyball tournaments, and countless cheerleading competitions. The Gateway Center Arena opened us up to a whole new industry — esports — and the opportunity to host teams like the Atlanta Dream and the Atlanta Hawks’ NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks. The sporting market is taking over the area, putting more people in our shops and restaurants.

How are you leveraging technology to enhance visitor experience?

We stay very active with our social media. People are always interested in a story, so we’re always telling stories to keep people engaged, to make them wonder. We try to leave enough in their mind that they want to check it all out for themselves.Shorten with AI

And in going digital, we are able to collect more statistics than we could by picking up the phone. It has a way of tracking what works and what does not. It seems to be working for what we do here. We’ve gotten our visitor numbers up within the past year, and almost doubled the number of website and social media visitors. As we continue to develop this strategy and tell the stories within the District, we know these numbers are only going to get better.Shorten with AI

Do you see any distinct trend among different visitors?

We have to appeal to different generations when we advertise — we want to be able to reach everybody. The traditional meeting has not been the same since COVID. People want to be entertained more, with more activities that bring them together. People host certain events to bridge the gap between generations. So, we make it easy enough for Gen X to navigate our advertising platforms, but also sophisticated enough to keep Gen Z engaged.  

To find out what’s going to motivate these different generations, you have to actually have a conversation with them. The younger generations are thinkers, with a different language, and I admire them. They all want work-life balance. They want places to go, and maybe bring families. They want something that’s going to pique their interest, versus just sitting in a breakout room or in a general session all day. There’s a lot that we can learn from them.

What are the key strategic initiatives that will be essential for the district to remain competitive in a rapidly evolving event tourism landscape?

An increasing number of meeting planners expect destinations to demonstrate sustainable practices and community impact. We are incorporating green event practices and promoting local tourism to meet these demands. We are also dealing with a lot of hybrid and tech-enhanced events. The number for in-person gatherings stays strong, but we still want to support people who are not able to get here. The technology has to be improved in venues, and in hotels, in order to perform those duties – something our hospitality partners have taken seriously to provide these groups hosting their events in the District. 

We have a competitive market nationwide, vying for the same business. We need to have a value proposition for them to stay in our area, because everybody’s shopping for the best deals. It is worth the value if a group is filling up the District and the hotels. The GICC will also work with us to offer discounted rates because we’re filling up the hotels. It’s all about these partnerships.

What challenges is the industry facing, and what strategies are you implementing to navigate any headwinds?

Planners are booking closer to event dates, which can be good or bad. If we’ve already booked a group requiring a lot of space, and then comes a group requiring a thousand rooms but using less space, we might feel like we’re losing something. But, we can’t take the risk of not booking anything. There is increasing pressure on sales and operations to respond with agility. We need to be faster with our processes and our proactive outreach.

We also have some opportunities with people on tighter budgets. We position the District as a high-value, high-impact destination by highlighting some of our cost advantages. People don’t have to rent a car or pay for transportation to go downtown. You can come right here and get everything. We have to take what we have and communicate its value to the customer.

Then, there’s always a shortage of labor in the hospitality industry. That’s just a challenge for everybody industrywide. People focus on service, and the value they’re getting with their money. We work with a lot of the temp agencies and a group doing Work First advocacy to overcome the labor shortages. And we are partnering with local stakeholders to advocate for workforce development and to consistently improve our services.

What are your top priorities for the organization over the next couple of years?

We’re trying to grow our market share and think outside of the usual events. Years ago, you wouldn’t have seen a sporting event in a convention center or a corporate group’s general session in an arena. We’re very flexible with that now. If we get a client in our building one time, we know that they are likely to rebook due to our elevated customer service. It’s all about awareness.

We do a lot of out-of-the-box things, like having people shop anonymously in the District and tell us about their experience. When we provide a testimony, we’re actually giving it from a customer who has experienced it directly. That transparency makes a big difference, especially with the new generations — they all want to know what somebody else experienced. While we remain mindful of potential headwinds from economic fluctuations, the ATL Airport District is well-positioned to navigate these challenges through adaptability, collaborations, and strategic investments. We stay ready for whichever way the economy flows. I stay energized and remain optimistic that this industry will begin to grow again.

Want more? Read the Focus: Atlanta report.