Peachtree City tops most desirable travel destination list
Golf cart drives around Peachtree City transporting a person in their daily routine. While “The Bubble” isn’t exactly the most industrial city, according to Expedia it is ranked the number one city to travel to in 2019.
New York City: the city that never sleeps. San Diego: America’s Finest City. Tucson, Arizona: home of the Grand Canyon. These all are some of the most diverse cities in the United States, and yet they all have one thing in common — Peachtree City out-ranked all of them in Expedia’s top cities to visit in 2019.
A lot of places have sidewalks, but they’re isolated. I feel like our golf cart paths connect us to each other.
— Peachtree City Mayor Vanessa Fleisch
While most cities in United State’s are identified by notorious buildings and monuments, Peachtree City is home to a much more domestic means of recognition. Instead of riding around on subways to avoid traffic, residence of Peachtree City often find themselves commuting on golf carts.
“Coming from Oklahoma we don’t have golf cart paths or riding bikes. We don’t have bike paths so you would just get on the road with other vehicles and hope you don’t get ran over,” parks and recreation program manager Stoney Hart said. “The golf cart paths just make Peachtree City one of a kind.”
The numerous golf cart paths provide residents of Peachtree City with a way to commute through nature, run in a safe environment, and bike in the middle of a dense forest landscape. The purpose of the paths, however, goes much deeper than the eye can see.
“I feel like our golf cart paths give us a sense of community that other places don’t have, because it gives people the opportunity to interact with other people as they’re just walking around,” mayor of Peachtree City Vanessa Fleisch said. “A lot of places have sidewalks, but they’re isolated. I feel like our golf cart paths connect us to each other.”
For residents living in “the Bubble,” being ranked on any kind of nationwide list is not exactly uncommon, but being portrayed to the world as the United States most desirable city to visit has proven even a shock to the mayor.
“I was quite pleasantly surprised to read and see that because we are very blessed to be a part of a lot of lists,” Fleisch said. “To be a part of a travel destination list was a nice surprise.”
Hopefully because this has happened we will have a lot of business and people coming in and spending money on hotels and tourist attractions.
— parks and recreation program manager Stoney Hart
While receiving recognition and respect from other communities is a considerable reward, Hart believes that this honor will go further in benefiting the Atlanta suburb.
“It’s a great thing for several different reasons,” Hart said. “Hopefully because this has happened we will have a lot of business and people coming in and spending money on hotels and tourist attractions. It really makes the city look good in general.”
While Peachtree City has been growing exponentially as a golden standard in the eyes of the public, maintaining and improving such a community has proved anything but an easy task.
Unfortunately for Mayor Fleisch, the entire public work force was let go just before she was sworn into office in 2014. As a result, she gives the buildings and grounds people that turned things around a great deal of credit for the city’s newest accolade.
The fact of the matter is that there are an abundance of individuals in powerful positions that truly care about the well being of this small community. “I wanted to keep it a safe place and a place we can all be proud of,” Fleisch said.
Peachtree City, the golf cart capitol, is currently more of a desirable destination than the Statue of Liberty. Whether it be the thrill of movie sets, the beautiful scenery, or the supportive community, the word will never know what truly captivates tourists the most.
Mayor Fleisch’s goal, on the other hand, is clear — “Keeping it as a wonderful, clean place that people can enjoy,” Fleisch said.” That’s the most important thing.”
