Atlanta’s attractions combine large-scale visitor infrastructure with museums, gardens, wildlife spaces, and cultural institutions. The figures below show the reported size, attendance, access, programming, and economic reach of leading Atlanta destinations, with measurement years kept explicit.
Table of contents
- Atlanta attractions at a glance
- Georgia Aquarium statistics
- Zoo Atlanta statistics
- Atlanta Botanical Garden statistics
- Museums and civic attractions
- Atlanta tourism access and hospitality
- Arts and culture economic impact
Atlanta attractions at a glance
Atlanta’s attraction landscape spans aquatic environments, wildlife habitats, botanical collections, art, civil-rights history, and destination marketing. The Georgia Aquarium contains more than 11 million gallons of water, while Zoo Atlanta cares for more than 1,000 individual animals across nearly 250 species. Atlanta Botanical Garden’s Midtown property covers 30 acres of outdoor gardens, and the High Museum of Art holds more than 20,000 works. (Georgia Aquarium About Us; Zoo Atlanta: The Natural World Comes Alive; Atlanta Botanical Garden About the Garden; High Museum Home)
The city’s visitor economy is also measured at a much larger scale. Discover Atlanta / ACVB reports an estimated 51 million visitors generated by Atlanta’s hospitality industry in 2024 and describes the industry as worth $20 billion. These are estimates and industry statements for the stated period, not a count of visits to one attraction. (Discover Atlanta About Us)
| Attraction or sector | Reported statistic | Measurement period or date |
|---|---|---|
| Georgia Aquarium | More than 11 million gallons of water | Current attraction description |
| Zoo Atlanta | Over 1,000 individual animals | Current attraction description |
| Atlanta Botanical Garden | 30 acres of outdoor gardens | Current attraction description |
| High Museum of Art | More than 20,000 works | Current collection description |
| Atlanta hospitality industry | Estimated 51 million visitors | 2024 |
| City arts and culture sector | $890.0 million economic activity | 2022 |
These figures are not directly interchangeable: some describe physical capacity or collections, some describe annual activity, and others describe economic modeling.
Georgia Aquarium statistics
The Georgia Aquarium is one of Atlanta’s largest indoor attractions by physical scale. Its About Us information says the aquarium contains more than 11 million gallons of water. Visitor Information says it is open 365 days a year, while daily entry ends half an hour before closing. Guests typically spend two to four hours there. (Georgia Aquarium About Us; Georgia Aquarium Visitor Information; Georgia Aquarium Tickets)
The aquarium’s listed hours can vary by day. Georgia Aquarium Visitor Information lists 9:00 AM–5:00 PM as today’s hours in the supplied attraction information. That time window should be treated as a dated operating-hours listing rather than a permanent schedule. (Georgia Aquarium Visitor Information)
For 2026, Georgia Aquarium Tickets lists the Aqua Pass at $69.99. The same source says children ages 2 and under are always free. The price is a 2026 figure, while the age policy is presented as an ongoing admission rule in the supplied source. (Georgia Aquarium Tickets)
The aquarium’s 2024 community and military programming also produced several quantified results:
- VIP service reached more than 540 veterans.
- Total VIP admissions for veterans and their families exceeded 1,300.
- Military Mondays provided free or discounted admission for 5,844 veterans and active-duty military personnel in late 2024.
- The Gold Star Family Program reached over 175 participants.
- Gold Star Family weekend lasted two days.
- A Veteran Family back-to-school sleepover hosted more than 100 participants.
- Special reenlistments, promotions, and retirements supported more than 20 active-duty service members.
- Swim with Gentle Giants hosted more than 80 individuals connected with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Shepherd Center, and Tommy Nobis Center.
All of these program figures refer to the Georgia Aquarium 2024 Annual Report. They describe participation or admissions in specific initiatives, so they should not be added together as a total visitor count.
Zoo Atlanta statistics
Zoo Atlanta opened in 1889 and sits on just over 40 acres. Its current attraction information says the zoo cares for over 1,000 individual animals and represents nearly 250 different species. A separate Zoo Atlanta feature describes the collection as 220 species on 40 acres, so the reported descriptions are not identical and should be retained as source-specific statements. (Zoo Atlanta About; Zoo Atlanta: The Natural World Comes Alive; Zoo Atlanta: Seven things you might not know about the Zoo)
The western lowland gorilla habitat covers 1.8 acres and is divided into five separate habitats. These dimensions indicate how one major animal area is organized within the broader zoo campus. (Zoo Atlanta Western Lowland Gorilla)
A Zoo Atlanta 2013 Annual Report recorded 850,000 total visitors for that annual-report year. Its monthly attendance figures show a strong seasonal pattern:
| Month in the annual-report year | Visitors |
|---|---|
| January | 27,609 |
| February | 26,873 |
| March | 72,767 |
| April | 121,553 |
| May | 103,982 |
| June | 104,361 |
| July | 103,975 |
| August | 73,188 |
| September | 63,990 |
| October | 84,423 |
| November | 42,505 |
| December | 27,758 |
The report’s monthly figures are historical and belong to that stated annual-report year; they should not be read as current attendance. April was the highest listed month at 121,553 visitors, while February was the lowest at 26,873. Those comparisons use only the reported monthly values. (Zoo Atlanta 2013 Annual Report)
The same 2013 report valued volunteer service hours at $1.1 million and recorded 58,938 hours, described as equivalent to 26 full-time staff. Its Twiga Terrace giraffe feeding program generated $33,290 in sales, compared with a $20,655 budget and a previous-year sales figure of $14,015. (Zoo Atlanta 2013 Annual Report)
Zoo Atlanta also reported reaching 634,000 visitors through impact programs and 135,000 students and families through education programs in that annual-report year. Those are program-reach measures, not necessarily unique people across all activities. (Zoo Atlanta 2013 Annual Report)
Atlanta Botanical Garden statistics
Atlanta Botanical Garden opened in 1976 and includes 30 acres of outdoor gardens in Midtown. Its Gainesville location opened in 2015, and the Garden says that site is home to the largest conservation nursery in the Southeast. (Atlanta Botanical Garden About the Garden)
The Kendeda Canopy Walk opened in 2010. It is 600 feet long, rises 40 feet in the air, and is 12 feet wide. The Garden says the walkway linked nearly 15 additional acres of woodlands to the Garden and describes it as the largest tree canopy-level walkway of its kind in the United States. (Atlanta Botanical Garden Kendeda Canopy Walk)
Storza Woods accounts for 10 of the Garden’s 30 acres. The Garden’s sensory materials also identify 40 feet as the Canopy Walk’s highest point. The repeated height figure describes the same feature, so it is not a separate measurement to add. (Atlanta Botanical Garden Storza Woods; Atlanta Botanical Garden Sensory Story)
The Fuqua Orchid Center showcases more than 200 genera of orchids and other tropical plants and contains 2,000 species. The Garden’s orchid information says orchids represent about 8% of all flowering plant species and more than 25,000 species exist worldwide. Atlanta Botanical Garden Orchid Daze ranks the Garden second globally for the total number of ex situ orchid taxa in its collection. (Atlanta Botanical Garden Fuqua Orchid Center; Atlanta Botanical Garden Orchid Daze)
The Garden’s Earth Goddess features 18,000 live annuals. Storza Woods also notes the tallest native fern in North America at near 3 feet tall in cultivation. The fern measurement is a cultivation description, not a claim about the maximum height of every specimen in the wild. (Atlanta Botanical Garden Cascades Garden; Atlanta Botanical Garden Storza Woods)
Museums and civic attractions
The High Museum of Art reports a collection of more than 20,000 works. Its impact information records average monthly attendance of 2,772, more than 5,000 students and teachers welcomed into galleries for tours, and more than 200 teachers joining a virtual teacher seminar series. (High Museum Home; High Museum Impact)
The same High Museum impact source says conservators performed detailed conservation assessments for more than 600 works of art in FY22 and conserved four other objects in the collection. FY22 is the source’s stated fiscal measurement period and should not be generalized into a current annual total. (High Museum Impact)
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights welcomes roughly 175,000 visitors each year and celebrated 10 years of operation in 2024. The center began a 24,000-square-foot expansion in 2024. A January 2024 grand-opening anniversary event listed discount admission at $10. (NCCHR 2024 Annual Report; NCCHR Expansion Tag; NCCHR Grand Opening Anniversary event)
These civic and museum figures measure different things: annual visitor volume, an anniversary milestone, planned or started expansion space, and a dated event price. Keeping those units separate gives a clearer picture of Atlanta’s cultural attractions.
Atlanta tourism access and hospitality
Discover Atlanta / ACVB’s 2025 Annual Report reports 19 major citywides executed in 2025 and nearly 700 attendees at its 2025 annual meeting. The report also says Atlanta’s dining scene had more than 60 MICHELIN-recognized restaurants. (Discover Atlanta 2025 Annual Report)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport offered more than 160 domestic destinations and nearly 90 international destinations spanning more than 50 countries, according to the same report. These are destination-network measures, not visitor totals. (Discover Atlanta 2025 Annual Report)
The convention and visitor organization also reported nearly 140 customer planning visits in 2025, enhanced service support for more than 50 mid-tier and citywide conventions or events, and support for more than 240 groups total. Its global broadcast series reached 170 countries and was localized into 135 languages. (Discover Atlanta 2025 Annual Report)
Food and family-focused programming added further participation measures. ACVB partnered with 44 restaurants for the inaugural MLB All-Star Restaurant Week, while attraction participation increased by 35% during the Kids Play Free September campaign. The report also says Atlanta has nearly 50% tree canopy coverage and ranks third in the country for Energy-Star certified buildings. (Discover Atlanta 2025 Annual Report)
Arts and culture economic impact
The AEP6 City of Atlanta study reports that the city’s arts and culture sector generated $890.0 million in total economic activity in 2022. Of that amount, $410.1 million came from nonprofit arts and culture organization spending, while $479.9 million came from event-related audience spending. (AEP6 City of Atlanta)
| 2022 City of Atlanta arts and culture measure | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Total economic activity | $890.0 million |
| Organization spending | $410.1 million |
| Event-related audience spending | $479.9 million |
| Jobs supported | 12,719 |
| Household income generated | $616.7 million |
| Tax revenues generated | $133.0 million |
The study reports that the sector supported 12,719 jobs, generated $616.7 million in household income, and delivered $133.0 million in tax revenues in 2022. These are modeled economic-impact outputs for the City of Atlanta study, not ticket sales from a single venue. (AEP6 City of Atlanta)
The research also recorded 493 valid audience-intercept surveys. The average travel party size was 2.41 people, and the study represented spending patterns of 541,472 attendees. The survey count and represented-attendee figure are different measures: one describes collected survey responses, while the other describes the attendance base represented in the economic analysis. (AEP6 City of Atlanta)