Proposed Kingsland theme park could be a job booster for Nassau County

Jacksonville Business Journal by Christian Conte, Reporter
Date: Friday, September 28, 2012, 9:38am EDT

A more than $100 million entertainment and adventure resort that is planned 40 miles north of Jacksonville in Southeast Georgia ?v=1″ alt=”On Page 1 you will find a story that details a Minneapolis company’s plans to build a resort about 40 miles north of Jacksonville.” width=”280″ height=”404″ border=”0″ />could add 800 jobs to the local economy.

Nassau County, which would be most directly impacted by the planned adventure resort to be located 25 miles north in Kingsland, is already a tourism destination. About 24 percent of the jobs in the county are leisure and hospitality-related, according to data from JaxUSA Partnership.

While tourism jobs are typically lower paying than other industries, Steve Rieck, the executive director of the Nassau County Economic Development Board, said that the new jobs could help put some in the county back to work.

The unemployment rate in Nassau County, while declining, was still at 7.7 percent, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Nationally, the amusement park industry provides jobs for more than 100,000 year-round and 500,000 seasonal employees, according to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.

Amusement parks and attractions also generate $12 billion in revenue and contribute $57 million to the U.S. economy.

To read more about the proposed entertainment and adventure resort, check out the Sept. 28 edition of the Jacksonville Business Journal.

Christian covers banking and finance, insurance, retail and restaurants and law

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