ATL unveils Market The Welcome campaign to greet international visitors

Airport Senior Deputy General Manager Michael Smith speaks to dignitaries about new marketing campaign highlighting Atlanta and Georgia attractions on Nov. 21.

By Anika Robertson
Senior Editor/Assistant Public Relations Manager

International visitors arriving at the world’s busiest airport will now receive an added helping of Southern hospitality.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) leaders, joined by local and state tourism officials, unveiled Market The Welcome, a unique marketing effort targeting international travelers.

“It’s often said that first impressions mean everything,” Airport Senior Deputy General Manager Michael Smith told dignitaries at the unveiling Nov. 21 in the International Terminal. “For some international travelers, their first impression of the United States involves landing at and navigating through Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. We want that impression to be memorable, and we believe Market The Welcome will achieve just that.”

The campaign inspires international visitors with breathtaking visuals of the Atlanta and Georgia experience during each step of the international arrivals process. Nearly 30 images in six languages are posted in customs-secured areas of the Airport. Images featured include the Atlanta BeltLine, Piedmont Park, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and Toccoa Falls.

The effort is produced in partnership with the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, Georgia Tourism and Brand USA, an organization dedicated to marketing the U.S. as a leading travel destination. Hartsfield-Jackson is one of just a handful of global airports selected for the Market The Welcome campaign.

Most people don’t realize travel is an export,” said Chris Thompson, Brand USA president and CEO. “The product is the experiences and the memories people take home and the money [visitors] leave behind. [Market The Welcome] gives them a taste of what they might be seeing as they’re arriving to stay here and then otherwise encourage them to come back if they’re just passing through.”

Kevin Langston, deputy commissioner for Tourism with the state of Georgia, said it’s essential that Georgia travel be an “enriching experience.”

“We often call Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Georgia’s front porch, and just like the front porch at home, it’s the first impression that most visitors have of us,” Langston said.

And international traveler numbers are rising. Currently, ATL services 77 international destinations with new routes in 2018 for China, Korea and Mexico.

“Hospitality is the gasoline that drives our great city’s economic engine,” said William Pate, president and CEO of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. “As home to the world’s busiest airport and as a global gateway to the United States, Atlanta has an even greater opportunity now to make sure that we maximize our visitors’ experience.”