Skip to main content

Regions and Neighborhoods: Fortifying a Resilient Economy with Trade, Tourism and Tech in Galveston

Published Aug 30, 2021 by David Ruiz

Galveston Strand

Galveston Strand. Photo courtesy of Visit Houston.

Galveston, Texas
galveston island state park

Ranked as one of the best places for young professionals to live in 2020, Galveston is home to a major academic health sciences center and is a significant trade hub for the region. Located just 50 miles southeast of Houston, the historic beach town’s economy is driven by a diverse range of industries, from tourism and education to health care. Galveston welcomes more than 20,000 commuters each day, as well as millions of visitors and tourists each year. We chatted with Jeffrey Sjostrom, President of the Galveston Economic Development Partnership, about the island’s economic prosperity and ongoing development. 

How does Galveston contribute to the fabric of the greater Houston region?

Galveston Island is a coastal barrier island that provides the first line of defense from coastal storms impacting our region. Our largest employer, the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston (UTMB), is home to the Galveston National Laboratory, one of only two in the country dedicated to biodefense and bioterrorism. The Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) is one of only six federal maritime training academies in the United States. The Port of Galveston is Texas’ premiere cruise port terminal; our robust tourism industry welcomes over 7 million visitors per year, and growing, onto the Island. These and a host of other historic, natural and human resources contribute to the overall strength and diversity of this dynamic region.

What are some unique characteristics that really set this area apart?

Within 30 to 45 minutes of downtown Houston, Galveston is strategically positioned as an intermodal transportation hub for rail, water, air and road assets. Galveston Island has seen an economic resurgence fueled by investments in parks, neighborhoods and infrastructure. Historically, Galveston has always been a city of "firsts." Innovation and entrepreneurship are at the very core of Galveston’s resiliency that continues to be displayed through the years.

Describe the business community in Galveston. What are some of the most active industry areas?

Maritime, tourism and education/health care industries drive Galveston’s economy. These industries, coupled with a very strong financial/insurance sector, as well as a concentration of small businesses, yield positive economic momentum driving Galveston forward. Galveston County has a robust economy that is enhanced through emerging technologies in aerospace, petrochemical assets, biotech and life sciences, as well as maritime, marine, resiliency and environmental initiatives. These have resulted in approximately 50 emerging tech companies across the county and the growth of an emerging technology ecosystem.

What attracts most businesses to relocate or expand in Galveston?  

Location, quality of life, accessibility for telecommuting, historic and natural resources, proximity to Houston and regional connectivity. In addition to these characteristics, Galveston is a city that has a base population of approximately 50,000 residents, but is a community that operates with a daily population center of 75,000 to 100,000 people. Galveston’s base population is expanded with daily commuters who work on the island—almost 40,000 jobs—own second homes on the west end, are college students attending UTMB, TAMUG and Galveston College, or are one of the 7 million visitors per year. 

What’s been the biggest recent change that has propelled the efforts of the Galveston Economic Development Partnership?  

The mission of the GEDP remains focused on growing Galveston’s employment and tax bases. Most recently, UTMB enhanced its relationship with the GEDP through the UTMB Customs House Emerging Technology Incubator. Significant initiatives are underway collaboratively between UTMB, the GEDP and beyond. Locally, and regionally, Galveston City and County are driving toward a new level of awareness and activity in the emerging technology sectors.  

How has Galveston worked to meet the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic?    

Collaboratively, proactively and with purpose.  As a result of prior events, Galveston is blessed with an educated and prepared framework for confronting natural disasters and catastrophic events.  

In March of last year, Galveston’s community banks came together to relaunch their model business recovery loan program, created after Hurricane Ike in 2008, to make financial resources available to Galveston and Galveston County businesses. When the SBA unveiled the EIDL and PPP loan programs, our lenders rose to the challenge and extended their services throughout the business community.

The City, Galveston Island Park Board, the Port of Galveston, Scholes International Airport at Galveston and our educational partners and others immediately went to work on contingency plans and concentrations on growing out from the pandemic.  

UTMB continues to play an exemplary role in serving Texans during this time. Consistent and trustworthy messaging increased our areas’ confidence throughout this pandemic. UTMB managed students, patients, researchers, faculty and the general public in an unprecedented way. Their excellence was on full display and their value to our entire region cannot be over-emphasized.

What are 4 to 5 signature spots to visit? Any hidden gems people need to know about? 

Signature spots consist of our beaches, the Moody Gardens Hotel, Spa & Convention Center, attractions, the golf course, Pleasure Pier, the cultural arts scene, events, festivals, restaurants, Downtown’s Strand area and more.

Some of our hidden gems are the Penguin Encounter at Moody Gardens, the world’s tallest water coaster at Schlitterbahn Park, touring the 1877 Tall Ship Elissa and the dolphin tours. 

What’s the most exciting thing on the horizon for Galveston right now?

The return of cruise ships, events and festivals, a new “National Security Multi-Mission Vessel” (NSMV) for the cadets of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, the return of the historic rail trolleys and beach nourishment projects.

What’s missing from the conversation about Galveston?

As quoted by our Mayor, Dr. Craig Brown, and the Chair of the GEDP, Mr. Keith Bassett: “Galveston continues to exemplify a resilient community that is positioned to grow out of this pandemic with boundless opportunities ahead!”
 

Learn more about Galveston and explore the greater Houston area.

Related News

Economic Development

How Amazon's Strategic Procurement Drives Inclusive Growth

11/20/24
Amazon’s leadership in supplier diversity has positioned the corporation for success while driving inclusive economic growth. Kennedy Oates, Partnership Board Member and Vice President of Global Procurement at Amazon, shared insights and best practices at the Greater Houston Partnership’s One Houston Together Fall Chief Procurement Officers (CPO) Convening.  Oates discussed how Amazon has grown its supplier diversity efforts by ensuring the value proposition of intentional inclusion of underrepresented businesses is communicated at every level. According to Amazon’s 2023 Sustainability Report, the company’s global supplier diversity and inclusion (SDI) program is estimated to have supported over 30,000 U.S. jobs and generated approximately $2.8 billion in wages earned from Amazon's certified U.S. Tier 1 supplier diversity spend.  In 2023, Amazon was inducted into the Billion Dollar Roundtable, a non-profit organization comprised of U.S. corporations that each spend $1 billion or more annually on a Tier 1 basis with diverse suppliers. These diverse-owned businesses comprise majority owners who identify as minorities, women, veterans, disabled and LGBTQ.  Oates stated that achieving this milestone required a deliberate approach, built on a clear vision, a targeted strategy, and an empowered team dedicated to executing these goals. By embedding supplier diversity into Amazon’s core procurement practices, they’ve fostered a sustainable and inclusive growth model that supports both the company’s goals and the success of diverse suppliers. Key Takeaways from CPO Convening Supplier Diversity as a Strategic Value Proposition Oates emphasized the importance of viewing supplier diversity as more than just an initiative—highlighting the long-term value diverse suppliers bring to a company and its surrounding communities. Through its global SDI strategy, Amazon measures impact through jobs supported, wages earned and economic output generated. “Given our reach and scale, Amazon has a greater responsibility.” – Kennedy Oates, VP of Global Procurement, Amazon Vision-Driven Goals with Clear Strategies For Amazon, supplier diversity goals go beyond simple statements. Oates stressed the importance of crafting a well-defined vision, supported by actionable strategies to advance supplier diversity objectives. This approach includes setting clear, market-specific spending targets, identifying procurement categories that have greater opportunity based passed success, and building relationships with suppliers by understanding their needs and their customers’ needs. In addition, internal teams should have collaborative discussions on supplier diversity across the entire business rather than in silos.   Partnering with Companies at Every Level “Every large company was once small.” – Kennedy Oates, VP of Global Procurement, Amazon Amazon is redefining procurement by challenging the perception that only large companies can serve large corporations. Its approach embraces partnerships with businesses of all sizes, embedding supplier diversity as a core element of its supply chain. While direct spending with certified Tier 1 diverse suppliers is central to Amazon’s SDI program, the company further amplifies its impact by encouraging Tier 1 suppliers to include diverse Tier 2 businesses in their procurement processes. For example, Amazon sets specific spend targets in contracts with Tier 1 suppliers to use Disadvantaged Business Enterprises, creating a positive ripple effect that brings opportunities to underrepresented companies deeper in the supply chain. To learn more about the Partnership’s Supplier Diversity workstream, contact LaTanya Flix.
Read More
Economic Development

Geothermal Startup Sage Geosystems Highlights Potential for New Energy in Houston

11/12/24
Long known as the energy capital of the world, Houston is proving its merit as the industry embraces an all-inclusive approach to energy sources. Beyond the wealth of oil and gas capital, Houston has become a landing spot for numerous solar, wind and battery storage investments. Companies like Fluence Energy, Renewable Parts and Solar Plus have chosen Houston for its manufacturing of innovative energy products. Geothermal Energy: An Untapped Resource Geothermal energy, often unsung in the new energy landscape, can be found beneath our feet, harnessing the power of heat lying underground. In conventional geothermal power plants, wells are drilled into geothermal reservoirs to access hot water or steam, which is then brought to the surface. This steam is used to drive turbines that generate electricity. Sage Geosystems is changing that by pursuing geothermal potential in rock that is hot but doesn't have the large volumes of water to bring the heat to the surface. Hot, dry rock enables geothermal power generation in many more places as the geology is more prevalent which enables geothermal to now be deployable almost anywhere in the world. Sage Geosystems: Leading Geothermal Innovation Houston is seeing its chance to make a mark with geothermal thanks to companies like Sage Geosystems, founded in 2020 with its headquarters near Bush Intercontinental Airport. Sage works to build the technology that makes this renewable energy a greater force in the worldwide energy transition, engaged in contracts and partnerships with local energy providers, major government agencies like the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and hyper-scalers like Meta Platforms. On the public utility side, the company recently partnered with the San Miguel Electric Cooperative to build the first geopressured geothermal system. The technology used can be paired with solar and/or wind to convert these intermittent clean energy sources to 24-hour power generation, or it can be used to move these clean energy sources from a time of day when the demand is low to a time of day when the demand is high, stabilizing the utility grid and helping mitigate the issue of blackouts and brownouts. The facility will be commissioned in December. Sage has three ongoing projects with the DOD. The U.S. Air Force recently provided Sage with $1.9 million in Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) funding to perform a geothermal demonstration with electricity generation, which will take place in Sage's test well in Starr County, Texas with a targeted completion date of Q3/Q4 2025.  The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has funded two geothermal feasibility studies for the U.S. Army installation of Fort Bliss in El Paso and the Naval Air Station CC in Corpus Christi. Sage is performing these feasibility studies with the University of Texas Bureau of Economic Geology. The intent of these studies is to evaluate the technical and economic feasibility of geothermal system installations using Sage's Geopressured Geothermal System (GGS) technology at these two DOD installations. Collaboration Powers Innovation in Houston As evidenced by the above, collaboration plays a central role in the growth of Sage Geosystems. The company has not only partnered with utility companies and major governmental institutions, but also collaborated with the Rice Alliance for Technology and the Greater Houston Partnership to facilitate work with institutions of higher learning like the University of Houston and Rice, venture capital firms, and established energy corporations such as ABB, Chesapeake (now Expand Energy), Nabors, and Geolog. This sense of collaboration is one of the many reasons Sage Geosystems has thrived in Houston, along with the infrastructure, talent and innovative spirit that propels local companies to success. The Houston Advantage for Energy Startups “While Texas is the top energy state in the U.S., Houston is the heart. Houston provides not only access to the O&G industry, but also many utilities and others interested and/or working in energy...The Houston energy ecosystem and the benefits described above will continue to be critical in this scale-up plan." - Sage Geosystems CEO Cindy Taff Looking ahead, Sage is building its first commercial energy storage facility and will be performing a geothermal power generation demonstration with the U.S. Air Force in 2025.  Sage sees Houston as the best place to scale in Texas and throughout the world. "Geothermal energy represents a transformative opportunity for Houston as it further strengthens our position as the global energy capital. Sage Geosystems' innovative approach to harnessing geothermal resources exemplifies the spirit of collaboration, innovation, and commitment to sustainability that defines our region’s energy leadership.” - Partnership Senior Vice President of Economic Development Craig Rhodes  For any new energy startups looking to establish themselves, Taff recommends leveraging Houston’s many assets for future success. “Tap into existing knowledge that can be transferred to clean tech and partner with companies that know where to find the skills needed to give your startup a leg up,” Taff said. “Join local incubators like Rice Alliance for Technology and the Houston Technology Center and others, leverage Greater Houston Partnership and Greentown Labs for networking, collaborate with Rice University and University of Houston, and take advantage of Texas' business-friendly regulatory environment.” Sage Geosystems is a prime example of how energy startups use Houston’s assets as a springboard to meet their potential, along with renowned innovators such as Syzygy Plasmonics, Cemvita Factory, and Fervo Energy. Learn more about the business opportunities within Houston's energy industry and its all-inclusive energy ecosystem.   
Read More

Related Events

Economic Development

Regions featuring San Jacinto College Center For Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology

Join the Partnership for an Exclusive Experience at the San Jacinto College Center for Petrochemical, Energy, and Technology! Discover why the San Jacinto College Center for Petrochemical,…

Learn More
Learn More
Executive Partners