Dr. Steve Morse presents at Georgia’s High Country for the Northwest Georgia Travel Association annual meeting.
Tourism officials and legislators of Georgia’s High Country heard from Reinhardt University’s Dean of the McCamish School of Business & Sport Studies Thursday evening in Cartersville during the annual Northwest Georgia Travel Association’s annual update.
Dr. Steve Morse, an economist and expert in hospitality and tourism, was invited to speak at the event focused on the regional impact of tourism on the 17 counties in Georgia’s High Country. The annual event is attended by legislators from the northwest area of Georgia, including elected and appointed officials from the Georgia House of Representatives and the State Senate, as well as local officials from the area.
“I was honored to speak to this group of distinguished officials who make decisions daily for the areas they represent,” Morse said. “Tourism in Georgia’s High Country is one of the area’s largest income producers, generating tax revenue and creating jobs for those who live in the area.”
Morse focused his presentation on the economic impact tourism spending has on jobs, local taxes, and local worker incomes and payroll; how tourists generate state and local taxes saving each Georgia household on taxes; and how tourism assets add to the quality of life in the region that accelerates both economic development and job creation.
Beyond his administrative responsibilities, Morse is professor of business teaching courses in micro-economics, price strategy, and hospitality and tourism demand analysis. His research areas are in economic development and economic trends in the travel and tourism industry where he is frequently quoted as an expert in hotel, restaurant, attractions and the tourism industry in leading news sources in the U.S.
A native Georgian, he was raised in West Georgia on a family farm near Whitesburg, in Carroll County. He has served on the Executive Board of the Boy Scouts of America, and as Assistant Scoutmaster for his Boy Scout Troop. He earned his B.S. from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. He and his wife, Dr. Mary Morse, and their 16-year-old son live near Canton. When he is not teaching, researching, traveling or speaking to groups, he can usually be found hiking, fishing or boating with his family somewhere on a lake or river in North Georgia.
