During the Georgia Live Gaming Esports Summit, Skillshot Media CEO Todd Harris publicized a case study collaboration with the University of Georgia and the Entertainment Tourism Alliance of Georgia (ETAG). The case study will kick-off in January and feature UGA graduate students working in unison with ETAG and Skillshot Media to examine the impact of tourism and workforce development. The case study’s expected release date is sometime in the Spring of 2024. 

“It is a pleasure to serve in an integral partnership role with this case study. Skillshot Media will support the initiative by gathering tourism and workforce development data from live events across Georgia in the areas of video gaming, Esports, digital media, and pop-culture,” explained Harris. “With film and television getting so much focus, Georgians do not realize the tremendous opportunity for economic impact from this sector of entertainment. This industry worldwide is over $200B and growing rapidly. That is larger than television, film, and music combined. There is untapped potential for continued workforce development and tourism.”

Furthermore, David Sutherland, a UGA professor, emphasized that, “an area of focus for our graduate students is the creative economy, of which Esports and video gaming are now major economic contributors. We’re excited to be working with ETAG and Skillshot to better understand these fast growing and ever-changing creative industries.”

Established in August of 2023, ETAG was formed with a specific mission: to concentrate exclusively on gathering data, developing the workforce, and refining tourism experiences in the Peach State.

“It is exciting to launch this first case study focused on entertainment tourism impact with two extremely credible partners. ETAG wants to see every community in Georgia benefitting from the tremendous growth in entertainment and overall creative arts,” added ETAG’s founder, Lynda Lee Smith. “We are supporting the hospitality industry, the destination marketing organizations/convention and visitor bureaus, municipalities, and others who want to ensure growth in the creative arts is maximized through collaboration.”