The largest aquarium in the US, Georgia Aquarium is one of the city’s most loved attractions.
VP of sales Will Ramsey, who has worked there for 20 years, shares its story.
Georgia Aquarium’s story
Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005. At the time, it was the largest on Earth. Twenty years on, it’s still the biggest in the US and remains fueled by a passion for marine life and creating one of the world’s most immersive aquatic experiences. Founded and funded by Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, its main goal was to educate and inspire visitors to Georgia and those who live there about the wonders of the ocean and to play a part in protecting it.
"The idea was to build something truly spectacular, where people could connect with the ocean in a meaningful way," Will Ramsey, one of the original team members and now vice president of sales, says about the inception. From its beginning, Georgia Aquarium set itself apart with groundbreaking exhibits and a commitment to innovation.
The Ocean Voyager exhibit, home to whale sharks and stingrays, was the first of its kind and still its centerpiece attraction. Since opening, the aquarium has expanded its reach and visitor numbers, developing educational programs and partnering with conservation organizations worldwide. Here, Will recalls the aquarium’s journey, milestones, and vision for the future.
How did you get started with Georgia Aquarium?
“I’ve been here since the very beginning, part of the opening team in 2005. Prior to that, I had worked at Busch Gardens in Tampa and the Florida Aquarium. My former boss at the Florida Aquarium was hired by Bernie Marcus to be the executive director here, and my move followed shortly after. Given my background in events and group sales, the job at Georgia Aquarium was a perfect fit, especially with our massive event space and unique position. And here we are 20 years later.”
How has Georgia Aquarium, and the city, changed in that time?
“Over the years, the aquarium has evolved significantly.
We’ve added new exhibits and experiences to keep things fresh — our promise to Bernie is to add something new every five years, and that ensures visitors always have a reason to return. It sort of sparked what later happened in the area too.
There wasn’t much down here since the 1996 Olympics, other than a park, hotels, and a big convention center. Atlanta was lacking fun things to do. The land we built on was owned by the Coca-Cola Company, and when the World of Coca-Cola opened next door in 2007, it created a whole new tourist hub.”
What makes Georgia Aquarium so unique?
We house the world’s largest aquarium habitat, Ocean Voyager, which contains 6.3 million gallons of water and is home to whale sharks, the largest fish species in the world.
We’re the only aquarium in the United States to have whale sharks. Additionally, we were built with the largest philanthropic gift in Georgia’s history, thanks to Bernie Marcus.”
Its biggest milestones?
“Opening debt-free in 2005 was a huge achievement, as it allowed us to invest heavily in conservation and research efforts globally. The work we do with whale sharks allows us to study their health and apply that knowledge to wild populations.
We’ve also grown to be one of the top attractions in Atlanta, with about 2-3 million visitors a year.
Do you cater mostly to tourists, or does the local community engage with the space too?
“We see that local people really want to be here, they make up the large majority of our membership, which makes sense when you come more than a couple times a year.
We a did a survey in Atlanta that showed 99 percent brand knowledge for Georgia Aquarium, and it’s so important to have that in your own community. Making sure people are interested in and fond of the aquarium not only means they’ll come regularly or be members, but they’re going to bring visiting friends and family.
Of course, we also have the largest airport in the US, so that’s a lot of people, and our location means we have a big drive market, too. We have school groups come to us from down the street and as far away as North Carolina — it’s amazing to have that local and national reach. And it isn’t just the aquarium; our event spaces are popular with Georgians.
We have proms, weddings, conferences … we even do the official kick-off party for Atlanta Pride. The ballroom has a view of our whale shark exhibit on one side and the beluga whale habitat on the other — it’s pretty spectacular.”
Georgia Aquarium partnered with GetYourGuide in 2017. What was the motivation behind it?
“Partnering with OTAs was a strategic decision to expand our reach, particularly to international tourists, which has really worked. Around 10–15 percent of our tickets come through that channel.
We wanted to ensure that visitors from around the world could easily find us and book tickets to the aquarium, and GetYourGuide’s platform, with its multi-language support and extensive global reach, was perfect for this.
Was it an easy process?
“Surprisingly easy. Quicker and smoother than anticipated. GetYourGuide’s tech team was fantastic. We use a system called Tessitura, and integrating it with GetYourGuide was so straightforward.
Within a few meetings, we were up and running, and our API connected with live inventory. We’ve since shifted to a fully digital ticketing system, which has been a game changer.
By encouraging visitors to buy tickets online in advance, we can better manage daily attendance and enhance the visitor experience with the data we receive.”
What do you get out of your ongoing relationship and communication with GetYourGuide?
“GetYourGuide helps us secure ticket sales in advance, which is crucial for planning and managing attendance. It also ensures that we reach visitors who might not otherwise find us. I have an open dialogue with our account manager, we’re both open to trying things. Sometimes I think, ‘I don’t need to have our monthly meeting because I don’t have anything to say,’ but we always just talk anyway, as we know those can be the conversations that spark a really good idea.”
What makes you proud to do what you do?
“Knowing that the work we do here at the aquarium has a global impact on marine life is incredibly rewarding. Seeing the joy and wonder on visitors’ faces, whether they’re children seeing a whale shark for the first time or adults learning about marine conservation, makes it all worthwhile.
It’s just amazing to have someone who has given $250 million of their own money to build this aquarium because they believe in giving back to the community and I just thought, from the very first day, ‘This is our job now, to be able to maintain that gift and to be able then to connect the world to what we’re doing. And it’s a really proud moment to be able to work somewhere you really, really believe in.”
Key takeaways
- Georgia Aquarium expanded its international reach and increased advance bookings with GetYourGuide.
- A seamless API integration allowed Georgia Aquarium to better manage visitor numbers and customer experience. A later shift to fully digital ticket sales further enhanced this, providing key data.
- A proactive and transparent relationship between Georgia Aquarium and GetYourGuide streamlines marketing strategies, and regular communication and fosters ideas for optimization.
- Georgia Aquarium invests in a new attraction every five years. By refreshing the experience regularly, it ensures return visitors.
- After complaints of overcrowding, a fully digital ticketing system was introduced. Dashboard data and insights can now be used more accurately to predict and plan visitor numbers and staffing.
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