Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau

What Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau does

The DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (d/b/a Discover DeKalb) is a non-profit destination marketing organization founded in 1984 and headquartered in Tucker, Georgia, with 23 employees. It is the official Convention & Visitors Bureau for DeKalb County, operating in partnership with county government to promote tourism across the county's 15+ cities and neighborhoods. Its functional role is to market DeKalb County as a destination for leisure travel, meetings and conventions, and sports tourism, targeting tourists/visitors, meeting planners, and sports event organizers as primary customer segments.

The organization's core product is the Discover DeKalb destination platform, anchored by discoverdekalb.com and the stay.discoverdekalb.com hotel booking integration, complemented by downloadable visitor guides, the DeKalb Talks Tourism podcast, an email newsletter, and a blog. Supporting programmatic products include Sports DeKalb, Arts DeKalb, the DeKalb Film Trail, and DeKalb Michelin Bites — verticalized initiatives targeting sports tourism, cultural tourism, film/heritage tourism, and culinary tourism respectively. The platform promotes an ecosystem of 68 hotels with 6,887 guest rooms, Georgia's most-visited attraction (Stone Mountain Park, 3,200 acres), four major film studios (Eagle Rock, Blackhall, Third Rail, Wilder), multiple Smithsonian-affiliated museums, and the Buford Highway International Corridor dining scene.

The business model is funded primarily through Tourist Development Authority revenues derived from hotel/motel taxes in DeKalb County. Visitor-facing services are provided free of charge; the CVB does not charge visitors, hotels, restaurants, or attractions for promotion. No equity funding rounds, parent company, or external investment are disclosed. Strategic partnerships include the DeKalb Entertainment Commission, Georgia Film Office, DeKalb County Government, the Smithsonian Affiliation (via CDC Museum), and Angel Flight Soars (at PDK airport).

Name

Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau

Legal name

The DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc.

Website

https://discoverdekalb.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau (d/b/a Discover DeKalb) is a non-profit destination marketing organization that promotes DeKalb County, Georgia to tourists, meeting planners, and sports organizers. Funded by hotel/motel taxes, it markets 68 hotels, Stone Mountain Park, museums, film studios, and dining through its website, visitor guides, and verticalized tourism programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Destination Marketing

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Destination & Local Services Marketplaces (Transfers, Guides, City Passes) (THALAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

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

Keywords

• Destination marketing services
• Convention and visitors bureau
• Tourism promotion
• Meeting and group services
• Sports tourism marketing

Headquarters

HQ city

Tucker

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tourism Promotion Services: As a Convention & Visitors Bureau, the organization operates as a destination marketing organization funded primarily through hotel/motel tax revenues (Tourist Development Authority). Services to visitors and tourism businesses are free; revenue is generated through promoting the county to drive overnight stays and tourism spending.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau is a non-profit destination marketing organization that promotes DeKalb County, Georgia as a tourism, meetings, and sports destination. It operates the discoverdekalb.com website, publishes visitor guides and a podcast, maintains a hotel booking integration, and runs dedicated programs (Sports DeKalb, Arts DeKalb, Meetings & Groups, DeKalb Film Trail, DeKalb Michelin Bites) to drive overnight stays, group bookings, and film productions in the county.

Product overview

Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau operates a unified destination marketing platform encompassing the discoverdekalb.com website and multiple programmatic initiatives. The core offering is the destination website providing event listings, dining guides, neighborhood information, attractions, and travel planning tools. Supporting products include the DeKalb Film Trail (film tourism), Sports DeKalb (sports tourism), Arts DeKalb (cultural tourism), a podcast series, visitor guide materials, meeting planning services, and a hotel booking integration. The organization also promotes the DeKalb Michelin Bites culinary program. This is a destination marketing organization rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Discover DeKalb Destination Website Primary digital platform providing visitors with event listings, things to do, dining guides, neighborhood information, attractions, and travel planning resources for DeKalb County, Georgia.
• Sports DeKalb Dedicated sports tourism program promoting DeKalb County venues and facilities to sports event organizers, tournament planners, and athletic associations.
• Arts DeKalb Arts and cultural tourism initiative featuring venues, galleries, performing arts programs, and cultural events throughout DeKalb County.
• Meetings & Groups Convention and meeting planning services that assist meeting planners and group organizers with venue selection, accommodation booking, and itinerary planning in DeKalb County.
• Visitor Guide Printable and requestable travel guide providing comprehensive information on attractions, dining, lodging, and activities in DeKalb County, distributed to visitors, hotels, and tourism partners.
• DeKalb Talks Tourism Podcast Audio content series covering tourism topics, local attractions, and cultural experiences in DeKalb County.
• DeKalb Film Trail Curated film tourism initiative showcasing filming locations throughout DeKalb County featured in major productions including Stranger Things, Hunger Games, and Driving Miss Daisy.
• DeKalb Michelin Bites Culinary tourism initiative highlighting Michelin-recognized and Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurants and dining experiences across DeKalb County.
• Hotel Booking Integration (stay.discoverdekalb.com) External hotel accommodation booking widget directing visitors to partner lodging properties throughout DeKalb County, covering 68 hotels with 6,887 guest rooms.

Quantifiable outcome

• 68 hotels with 6,887 guest rooms promoted to visitors
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Smithsonian Affiliate (David J. Sencer CDC Museum)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe David J. Sencer CDC Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate, connecting it to the Smithsonian Institution's network of museums and educational resources. This affiliation enhances the museum's credibility and provides access to traveling exhibitions and educational programming.
• DeKalb Entertainment CommissioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDiscover DeKalb works closely with the DeKalb Entertainment Commission to promote film locations, support production companies, and develop the entertainment industry in DeKalb County. The commission helps identify locations and facilitate filming permits.
• Georgia Film OfficeminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorks with the state film office to promote Georgia's 30% entertainment tax credit and recruit film productions to DeKalb studios including Eagle Rock Studios, Blackhall Studios, Third Rail Studios, and Assembly Studios.
• Angel Flight SoarsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNonprofit organization coordinating a network of 1,000 pilots who transport medical patients to out-of-state hospitals, based at DeKalb Peachtree Airport (PDK).
• DeKalb County GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAs the official Convention & Visitors Bureau for DeKalb County, the organization operates in partnership with county government to promote tourism economic development across the county's 15+ cities and neighborhoods.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Destination DC: The official DMO for Washington, D.C. — a comparably structured CVB/DMO that combines destination marketing, meetings/conventions sales, and visitor information services for a major metropolitan area.
• Visit Orlando: A large, established destination marketing organization that operates a multi-vertical tourism marketing mandate (leisure, meetings, sports, film) with a much larger budget and team — useful as a scaled benchmark for CVB operating models.
• Georgia Department of Economic Development - Tourism Division: The state-level destination marketing organization for Georgia, which complements county-level CVBs like Discover DeKalb through statewide tourism promotion, film office activity, and cooperative marketing partnerships.

Direct peers

• Gwinnett Convention & Visitors Bureau: The destination marketing organization for Gwinnett County, Georgia — another adjacent metro-Atlanta county CVB of similar scale, also funded via hotel/motel taxes, competing for the same leisure, meeting, and sports tourism demand.
• Cobb Travel & Tourism: The official destination marketing organization for Cobb County, Georgia — an adjacent metro-Atlanta county CVB with a comparable hotel-tax-funded mandate promoting hotels, sports venues (including Truist Park area), and meeting business.
• Explore Atlanta: The official destination marketing organization for the City of Atlanta, operating in the same metro area as Discover DeKalb with overlapping hotel-tax-driven funding and overlapping meetings/sports/leisure tourism mandates.

Others

• Atlanta Film Office (Fulton County): A peer film-commission-style organization operating in the same metro area, focused on recruiting and supporting film/TV productions — closely related to DeKalb's film tourism and entertainment commission work.

Regional players

• Visit Savannah: The destination marketing organization for the Savannah, Georgia area — a Georgia-based DMO with comparable hotel-tax-funded operating model and a focus on leisure tourism, dining, and cultural attractions.
• Experience Columbus (Columbus, GA): The DMO for Columbus, Georgia — another Georgia-based peer CVB of similar scale that promotes local dining, arts, heritage tourism, and meetings with comparable funding mechanisms.
• Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau: The destination marketing organization for Augusta, Georgia — a regional Georgia peer with a comparable CVB model focused on leisure, golf/Heritage sports tourism, and meetings.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dekalb-convention-&-visitors-bureau

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Discover DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau