Pick Ellijay Represents Gilmer County During World Cup

This summer, Pick Ellijay joined Explore Georgia and destinations from across the state for “Georgia, the Whole Day Through,” a statewide activation at the Georgia World Congress Center held during the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Across Atlanta’s eight match days, the activation welcomed more than 70,000 visitors, introducing travelers from around the United States and the world to communities across Georgia. Pick Ellijay was proud to be the only Georgia mountain destination with its own dedicated presence.

Leading up to the tournament, Pick Ellijay participated in several international cooperative marketing efforts alongside Explore Georgia and BrandUSA. These included out-of-home advertising in England through the U.S. Travel Association, digital advertising through Sojern, and international marketing campaigns in England, Germany, and Spain through Visit USA Parks. Together, these efforts helped introduce international travelers to Georgia before they arrived and encouraged them to explore destinations beyond Atlanta during and after the tournament.

We debuted our new experiential booth designed by Good Grit Agency which invites visitors to step in to the heart of Georgia’s Apple Capital, engage their senses, and take a little piece of Ellijay home with them. Visitors experienced Ellijay through an interactive “apple picking” activity, where they selected apples highlighting experiences throughout Gilmer County. Guests also enjoyed an Ellijay-themed photo booth, allowing them to send themselves keepsake photos from the activation with custom digital frames.

Throughout the tournament, our team met thousands of travelers, learned about the experiences they were looking for and introduced them to the orchards, outdoor recreation, wineries, farms, small businesses, and Appalachian hospitality that make Ellijay unique. Visitors were connected with PickEllijay.com to continue exploring itineraries, events, lodging, and trip ideas after returning home.

The activation also provided an opportunity to connect with visitors already traveling within Georgia. Many shared memories of annual apple season trips, while others were discovering Ellijay for the first time. Those conversations allowed us to encourage repeat visitors to experience our community throughout the year and inspire day visitors to extend their stay.
To help visitors share their experience beyond the activation, we mailed more than 400 Ellijay postcards to the friends and loved ones of visitors in 37 states and 28 countries. We also distributed more than 5,600 branded promotional items and shared several bushels of fresh Georgia peaches from local orchards, giving visitors another way to remember our community.

The activation also created opportunities to showcase our community through regional media. Pick Ellijay was featured as one of three destinations highlighted during a FOX 5 Atlanta segment with Paul Milliken and was interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Statewide, “Georgia, the Whole Day Through” generated more than 80 online, print, and broadcast media placements, more than 860 million media impressions, and more than one million social media views across Explore Georgia’s channels. The activation webpage also ranked among Explore Georgia’s ten most-visited webpages throughout the tournament.

The FIFA World Cup™ brought visitors from around the globe to Georgia and created a unique opportunity to share Ellijay’s story with new audiences. We are grateful to Explore Georgia and the Georgia Department of Economic Development for making this statewide effort possible and to the local businesses, tourism partners, and community members who contributed and whose stories helped us represent Gilmer County throughout the tournament. We look forward to welcoming many of these visitors to Ellijay in the years to come. Special thanks go to BJ Reece Orchards, Penland Orchards, and R&A Orchards for providing peaches for the activation, the Georgia Department of Economic Development for making this opportunity possible, the Good Grit Agency team for their hard work on our booth, and our staff from both the tourism and chamber teams who worked 12+ hour long days on match days to bring a little piece of Ellijay to the world.