Visitors bureau officials hope the five Michelin-starred restaurants named in the first Michelin Guide Atlanta, which was revealed Oct. 24 at a gala ceremony at the Rialto Center for the Arts, will increase the city’s draw for tourists looking for memorable dining experiences.
The 45 restaurants in the 2023 Atlanta Michelin Guide “(are) going to put Atlanta firmly on the culinary map,” said Andrew Wilson, chief marketing officer for the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB). “I believe firmly that people are going to come here because of it.”
“We’re going to build from that,” he added. “The chefs that got the one star, some of them are already committed to pushing for two.”
Elisabeth Boucher, Michelin Guide communications director, said she thinks the guide will prompt domestic and international travelers to “look at Atlanta in a wider way.” She said it may also prompt tourists to stay longer “because they can see that you can spend a nice evening” with friends or family.
Before the Michelin Guide launch, ACVB CEO William Pate called Atlanta’s restaurant scene “the most underappreciated portion” of the city.
At a recent convention of association executives, Pate said, “I had 20 different folks come up to me and say, ‘Oh my gosh, I heard you guys were going to be participating in Michelin. I had no idea you all had that kind of restaurant scene.’”
The ACVB is helping to fund the Michelin Guide Atlanta with $300,000 a year over three years, along with marketing and promotion of the guide. ACVB’s funding comes from a combination of public and private money, including hotel room taxes, a convention marketing fund, membership dues, publication ad revenue and other sources.
“It’s not inexpensive to bring the guide to a city,” Wilson acknowledged. He said the vision for a Michelin Guide for Atlanta had been in the works since 2019. “It’s taken a lot of work to get to this point,” he said, including building community support for it.”
After an initial guide is published for a city, what typically happens is “a significant lift in the culinary scene,” with restaurants raising the standards, Wilson said. He said restaurants then see an increase in traffic because “there are a lot of people who choose to visit the destination based on the restaurant choices.”
“So basically we’re hoping to see a significant boost in tourism,” Wilson said.
The Michelin Guide was first published in France in 1900 with information for motorists on where to dine and stay, with the idea of encouraging tire sales. The first Michelin guide for a U.S. city came out in 2005 — for New York. There are now seven Michelin guides for U.S. destinations including Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Miami/Orlando/Tampa, California and Colorado.