South Carolina Tourism shows yet another record year

Friday, February 21, 2020

Currently, tourism industry in South Carolina is a record $23.8 billion sector, supporting one in every 10 jobs and contributing $1.8 billion in state and local taxes, as per the recent statistics published today by the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

SCPRT Director Duane Parrish declared the new impact in a “State of the Tourism Industry” presentation at the Marriott Myrtle Beach Resort and Spa at Grande Dunes during the Governor’s Conference on Tourism & Travel. The figures represent the business activities of tourism for the 2018 calendar year, the recent for which there is a comprehensive analysis. Parrish explained that the state was growing for more than a decade, and credited the high standards of hospitality and variety of experiences offered in South Carolina destinations behind this development.

“We’re not a static, one-dimensional vacation destination,” he said. “We are an evolving, multi-faceted collection of unique travel experiences. That’s what brings more, new visitors to our state each year, and that’s what keeps those visitors coming back year after year.”

Indicators for last year hinted at even more growth, Parrish stated, urging that tourism in South Carolina has completed its seventh consecutive record year just recently.

For instance, at the end of the last fiscal year, accommodations tax collections increased 4 percent and admissions tax collections went up 5 percent.

Deplanements at South Carolina’s five major airports are up 10.5 percent in 2019, reaching a record 5.8 million.

Last year, hotel inventory increased by 2.9 percent and room revenue increased by 2.5 percent as a whole. In addition, AirDNA has reported that the inventory of available short-term rental properties in South Carolina. It totaled to almost 50,000 last year, an increase of 9.7 percent.

« Back to Page