Sister Cities Worth $84 Million a Year to Atlanta 

 Sister city arrangements have long been praised for their cultural benefit, but a new study suggests that “citizen diplomacy” and the exchange it fosters can mean real money for cities and their partners.

Presented at Sister Cities International’s annual conference in Washington last month, the study observed the impact of travel and tourism, foreign investments from sister cities, spending by students coming for exchange programs, impact of volunteers, in-kind donations and more. 

Atlanta was chosen along with Nashville, Tenn., and Fort Worth, Texas, to participate in the pilot study by ValueIdeas, which boosters say could help provide a better picture of the value international ties bring to cities. The study also breaks out ex-U.S. data showing how engagement with American cities brings boosts their international partners. 

Atlanta has 18 sister-city relationships around the world, with some sitting dormant and others maintaining vibrant educational and cultural exchanges. Some, like the Salzburg, Austria, and Brussels relationships, are trying gain a new lease on life. 

Averaging data collected from sister-city committees as well as private and government sources over a three-year period, the study determined that Atlanta saw $84.5 million in “direct and indirect” economic impact in 2016, most of which came from travel and tourism associated with its sister city pacts ($53 million). The total amounts to $189 for each of the City of Atlanta’s 440,000 residents annually. 

The figures could be a bit inflated, as they include a $24.4 million “new jobs” contribution that takes into account investment from Sage software, a British firm headquartered in the northeastern English city Newcastle, a long-time Atlanta partner. Sage already had investments in the metro Atlanta area before committing to its new Midtown offices. And those undertaking the study admit that business and tourism impacts are among the hardest to measure. 

The study findings come as the Atlanta mayor’s office seeks to employ sister cities to further its economic development goals, even while maintaining their tradition of cultural exchange. Atlanta and Toulouse, France, a more than 40-year sister-city, are embarking on an entrepreneurial exchange this fall.   

The mayor’s Office of International Affairs has been working to bolster the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission, which operates under city authority but has traditionally received no funding. 

Shelby Grubbs, executive director of the Atlanta Center for International Arbitration and Mediation, has been approved by the Atlanta City Council as the commission’s new chair, following in the footsteps of Arnall Golden Gregory LLP attorney Teri Simmons, who led the organization for about a decade. Ms. Simmons was joined by Taylor Woodruff, international affairs coordinator, at the Sister Cities International conference July 14. Carolyn Bishop, president of the Atlanta-based Consortium for Global Education, also attended. 

During the trip, Ms. Simmons was elected to the Sister Cities International board of directors.  

Mr. Grubbs is joined by Ember Bishop, Georgia’s deputy commissioner for international relations, on the Atlanta commission’s board. Farah Amir, head of the Georgia Council for International Visitors, is likely to be approved during the council’s August session, rounding out the mayor’s three appointees to the commission’s board, according to Mr. Woodruff. The commission’s leadership structure also comprises elected heads of the local sister-city committees. 

According to the study, Atlanta is far ahead of other cities in maximizing the economic value of its sister-city ties. Fort Worth saw $14 million in benefit, while Nashville saw $25.8 million. 

And Atlanta’s partners benefited too. Cumulatively, exchanges with Atlanta netted them $153 million.

The study estimated that the impact of Sister Cities International-related exchanges on the U.S. economy, network-wide, is $525 million.