What Visit Macon does

Visit Macon is the official Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) and destination marketing organization (DMO) for Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, founded in 1980 and operating as a nonprofit. It functions as the central marketing and visitor services hub for the destination, connecting prospective visitors to local hotels, restaurants, attractions, events, and cultural experiences through the visitmacon.org platform, a physical visitor center at 450 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, and a mobile application (Tour Macon) available on iOS and Android. The organization is led by President and CEO Gary Wheat and operates with 11-50 employees.

The product portfolio spans owned digital properties (visitmacon.org, Tour Macon app, Virtual Tours via Skynav), transaction infrastructure (Peek booking platform integration, direct hotel booking across 56+ properties), ticketed experiences (Macon All-Access Passes), and operated tour services following the September 2024 acquisition of Rock Candy Tours, a music-heritage tour operator founded in 2011 by Jessica Walden and Jamie Weatherford. The acquired brand now operates as "Rock Candy Tours powered by Visit Macon" alongside the Soul Sights Van Tour, focusing on music history, African American heritage, and cultural landmark experiences.

Visit Macon's revenue model is that of a public-purpose nonprofit DMO rather than a commercial enterprise. It is funded primarily through hotel/motel tax revenues and local government appropriations from Macon-Bibb County, and provides visitor information, maps, guides, and promotional content free of charge. Commercial transaction revenue is generated indirectly through tour operations (Rock Candy Tours, Soul Sights Van Tours) and booking referrals. The organization also produces content marketing (blog, YouTube series, Spotify playlist, e-Newsletter) and earned media placements in 2025 Wall Street Journal and Time Magazine destination rankings.

Name

Visit Macon

Legal name

Visit Macon

Website

https://visitmacon.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Visit Macon is the nonprofit Convention & Visitors Bureau and destination marketing organization for Macon-Bibb County, Georgia, promoting tourism through its website, visitor center, mobile app, and operated tour brands (including the 2024-acquired Rock Candy Tours), funded primarily by hotel/motel taxes and county appropriations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing and Tourism Promotion Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (71219), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Other (4879)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Permitting, Reservations & Visitor Information Services (Passes, Booking, Visitor Centers) (THAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Heritage & Historic District Tours (THAJAAAB), Cultural Heritage & Indigenous-Led Visitor Services (Tribal Tours, Heritage Sites, Co-management) (THAAAGAL), Recreation & Activity Services (Hiking, Boating, Climbing, Fishing—Guided/Authorized) (THAAAGAF)

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Convention visitors bureau
• Tourism promotion
• Visitor information services
• Guided cultural tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Macon

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Tourism Promotion Services: Visit Macon operates as a destination marketing organization funded primarily through hotel/motel tax revenues and local government appropriations. Revenue supports marketing campaigns, visitor services, event promotion, and tourism infrastructure.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Visit Macon is the official destination marketing organization and Convention & Visitors Bureau for Macon-Bibb County, Georgia. It promotes Macon as a travel destination through a central tourism website, event calendars, and digital content, and operates owned-and-operated tour services including Rock Candy Tours (acquired 2024) and the Soul Sights Van Tour. Visitor services include a downtown information center, the Tour Macon self-guided mobile app, a hotel booking storefront covering 56+ properties, and multi-attraction All-Access Passes.

Product overview

Visit Macon operates as a destination marketing organization offering a comprehensive tourism platform for Macon, Georgia. The platform serves as a central hub for visitor services, combining a directory of local attractions, tour booking capabilities, and event discovery. The portfolio includes owned and operated tour services (Rock Candy Tours, Soul Sights Van Tour), digital tools (Tour Macon mobile app, Virtual Tours), and pass products (Macon All-Access Passes). The platform aggregates local hotels, restaurants, events, and attractions while providing booking integration for tours.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rock Candy Tours powered by Visit Macon: Music history-focused guided van and walking tours exploring Macon's music heritage, African American heritage, and cultural attractions.
• Tour Macon App

Products and services

• Visit Macon Destination Platform Central tourism marketing platform for Macon, Georgia, connecting visitors with local attractions, tours, hotels, restaurants, events, and cultural experiences through the visitmacon.org website and supporting digital channels.
• Rock Candy Tours Guided van and walking tours operated by Visit Macon exploring Macon's music history, African American heritage, and cultural landmarks, available for booking through the Peek platform.
• Tour Macon Mobile App Self-guided mobile application for iOS and Android providing interactive maps, the Macon Music Trail, downtown wayfinding, and visitor information for exploring Macon's attractions.
• Soul Sights Van Tour One-hour guided van tour showcasing Macon's architectural landmarks and locations that inspired musical legends, available in English and Spanish and bookable through the Peek platform.
• Macon All-Access Passes Multi-attraction bundled pass packages providing discounted access to multiple Macon museums, tours, and cultural attractions for visitors.
• Virtual Tours Digital virtual tour experiences allowing remote exploration of Macon locations including Cherry Street Plaza via the skynav.app platform.

Quantifiable outcome

• Acquisition of Rock Candy Tours enables expanded tour options and increased capacity for cultural tourism
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rock Candy TourscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 September 2024Visit Macon acquired Rock Candy Tours, a local tour company founded in 2011 by Jessica Walden and Jamie Weatherford. The acquisition allows for expanded tour options and increased capacity, with plans to include more transportation and tour types. The business is now called 'Rock Candy Tours powered by Visit Macon' and focuses on Macon's music history and cultural heritage.
• Mercer UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Mercer University for music programming at Capricorn Studios (Mercer Music at Capricorn) and educational tourism opportunities
• Knight FoundationminorGTM or Marketing PartnerKnight Foundation support for Macon's cultural and community development initiatives featured on visitmacon.org

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Visit Atlanta: The CVB for Atlanta — the largest and best-funded DMO in Georgia. Competes with Macon for group, convention, and sports tourism business in the same state and represents the upper bound of what a Georgia DMO can scale to.
• Brand USA: The national destination marketing organization for the United States. Visit Macon's WSJ/Time recognition flows into Brand USA-style international visibility efforts; Brand USA is the relevant umbrella peer for international audience development strategy.
• Explore Georgia: The state-level DMO for Georgia operated by the Georgia Department of Economic Development. Visit Macon partners with and is featured on Explore Georgia; it is the statewide umbrella under which Macon competes for allocation and visibility.
• Visit Charleston: Charleston CVB is a peer in Southern cultural/heritage tourism with a much larger marketing budget. Same DMO funding mechanics (accommodations tax) and same heritage-tour marketplace overlap; represents a more mature version of Macon's potential trajectory.

Others

• Peek (Peek.com): The third-party booking platform through which Visit Macon sells Rock Candy Tours and Soul Sights Van Tours. Peek is an enabling technology partner for the DMO rather than a competitor, but it is the most operationally comparable tour/activity booking platform in the U.S.

Regional players

• Visit Augusta: Augusta's CVB is a direct Georgia peer of similar size and budget profile, competing for in-state leisure, sports (The Masters), and group travel — useful for benchmarking operating costs and marketing ROI of a mid-size Georgia CVB.
• Visit Columbus GA: Columbus, Georgia's CVB is a similarly sized in-state DMO peer with comparable funding model and limited marketing budget. Relevant comparator for what a small Georgia CVB can achieve operationally.

Direct peers

• Visit Memphis: Memphis CVB is a peer in mid-size Southern music-heritage destinations (blues, soul, rock) and competes with Macon for the same cultural-tourist segment. Comparable DMO funding model, tour-operator integrations, and event-driven GTM motion.
• Visit Nashville: Nashville's CVB is a close functional peer because both cities anchor their destination brand on music heritage. Visit Nashville operates tour integrations, mobile apps, and a comparable DMO funding model — useful benchmark for how Macon's music-tourism strategy can scale.
• Visit Savannah: Convention & Visitors Bureau for Savannah, Georgia — a peer DMO in the same state competing for the same visitor pool, with similar DMO funding model (hotel/motel tax), similar digital booking platform, and overlapping cultural/heritage tourism positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/macongasoul
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PL_-q26YUIzomohid9d05VDKW_ngagNfui
• Facebookfacebook.com/VisitMaconGA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit Macon