In 2020 the Macon Cherry Blossom Festival was canceled for the first time because of COVID-19.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp's budget for 2021 includes $1M for the Georgia DECD to promote recovery of tourism statewide from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Kemp has been widely criticized for Georgia being one of the last states to shut down businesses in 2020, and one of the first to reopen.

State DMO Explore Georgia has said it would use the $1M - 50% directly, and 50% allocated to regional DMOs - to try to drive visitation to all regions of the state, and restore a hospitality industry which was been crippled in 2020 by the absence of both leisure and business travelers.

In 2020, tourism spend contributed $12B to the Georgia economy, down from $69B in 2019.