Governor Perdue Announces Release of HBO "Warm Springs" DVD

Warm Springs an Example of Georgia Heritage Tourism

GREENSBORO, GA – Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue today celebrated the DVD release of the critically-acclaimed and Emmy-nominated movie “Warm Springs” at the Southern Governors’ Association (SGA) meeting in Greensboro, Georgia.

“This movie tells two great stories – one of a beloved president and the second of a treasured heritage tourism destination and Georgia landmark,” said Governor Sonny Perdue.

As the 2005 Southern Governors’ Association chairman, Governor Perdue is hosting the 71st annual SGA meeting at the Ritz-Carlton, Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee. Governor Perdue selected heritage tourism as the primary initiative for his chairmanship. A major component of the Governor’s Heritage Tourism Initiative is film legacy tourism, a growing segment of the tourism industry where tourists visit a destination where a movie was filmed.

“The film industry is important to our economy through direct spending during the film’s production,” said Governor Perdue. “But there are also tourism benefits when a movie highlights Georgia’s unique communities and attractions. The city of Warm Springs and the landmark Little White House have seen tremendous tourism growth since the movie was released.”

According to the Warm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau, calls requesting information about visiting the town and landmark have increased by 30 percent since the movie aired on HBO on April 30, 2005. A popular spot for group tours, the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation has seen a 200 percent increase in walk-up, individual self-guided tours of the facility.

In 1934 President Franklin D. Roosevelt convened the first meeting of southern governors in Warm Springs, Georgia to discuss a railroad rate system that put southern industry at a disadvantage with the rest of the country. The group later became the Southern Governors’ Association.