Advisory Committee on International Relations Chairman

§Nearly 400 international companies located their operations in Atlanta in the last decade, using their new base in this major United States market as a spring-board for growth.

Metro Atlanta’s population of 4.1 million consumers is the eighth largest market in the United States. Another 80 percent of the U.S. consumer population is within a two-hour flight. Frequent and expanding nonstop and direct flights to all parts of the globe – more than 200 destinations daily at last count – exponentially increases the growth potential of locally based international companies.

A growing number of Atlanta-based companies also have expanded into the international arena, including the 29 Fortune 1,000 (the largest in the U.S.) firms headquartered here. More than 700 of the companies listed as the largest in the United States in Fortune magazine are operating in metro Atlanta.

Whether moving people, products or data, the efficient, state-of-the-art transportation and communication infrastructure in metro Atlanta saves both time and money.

Atlanta is a hub; the focal point where more than 200 major air routes, three major U.S. interstates, two railroads and the nation’s fiber optic trunk lines all converge. Distribution and warehousing facilities are abundant. Atlanta companies are directly in the middle of one of the world’s best logistics infrastructure.

Today, Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport is the world’s busiest airport and is recognized as the key player in metro Atlanta’s global logistical dominance. The Airport allows access to more than 80 percent of the U.S. population within two hours; provides nonstop and direct access to more than 200 domestic and international cities; and with a major expansion of daily flights to business centers, including a push into more than 27 Latin American destinations.

In addition to its dominance as a passenger terminal, Hartsfield International is a leading air freight terminal. In the last year, more than 850,000 metric tons of cargo were shipped through Hartsfield, a quarter of these were international shipments. Total shipments have increased about 22 percent over the last five years, nearly four times the world average of six percent.

Atlanta offers exporters the General Purpose Foreign Trade Zone #26, a federally sanctioned site where foreign materials may be stored, exhibited, distributed, assembled or used in manufacturing operations duty-free until they enter the U.S. marketplace.

Major international festivals flavor the metro area. Sellout crowds attend annual events including the Atlanta Greek Festival, the Chinese New Year, the Caribbean Festival and other events sponsored by local cultural institutions. The National Summit on Africa opened its national tour in Atlanta in 1998. More than 150 cultural associations and organizations provide services and help preserve the rich cultural diversity of all its citizens.