$18 billion S.C. tourism industry now more than beaches and golf

Tourism in South Carolina has never been stronger, USC tourism officials said Monday as the school opened a two-day international conference looking at the influence that innovation and entrepreneurship has on the state’s leading industry.

This is the second annual forum on international tourism that USC and the state of South Carolina have participated in – last year’s event was held in Aruba, a small island in the Carribbean off the coast of Venezuela, where the focus was on energy sustainability.

About 100 entrepreneurs, academicians, investors and others attended the forum. USC SmartState Center of Excellence director Simon Hudson said the timing was perfect for the conference to come to the Palmetto State.

One big reason is politics and the removal of the Confederate flag from the State House grounds, he said.

“I was in England when all this happened, and obviously tragic circumstances led to it, but for me, it was a significant moment for the tourism industry in South Carolina – significant,” Hudson said, referring to the Confederate flag’s removal after the killing of nine people at a Charleston church. “I was trying to explain to people in England it was like the Berlin Wall coming down.

“It allows the state so much more opportunity to build our image – to build on our image – and strenghten awareness of the tourism market and take advantage of our heritage and the African American history that we have,” Hudson said. “It’s such a strong history.”

Another reason the timing is right for an international tourism conference in South Carolina is the state’s tourism culture is changing from a two-dimensional dynamic of just golf and beaches.

“There was a lack of product,” Hudson said. “I’ve seen over the past five years a big change. We know now that Charleston is a huge culinary center. We’ve got these little destinations like Bluffton or Lexington that are really unique and add character. We’ve got (the S.C. Department of) Parks, Recreation and Tourism promoting the undiscovered South Carolina, because there is a lot there that’s undiscovered.”

The conference featured presentations from successful USC entrepreneurs such as John Cosgrove, founder of Eco Caters, a farm-to-table food and event planner in Washington, D.C.; Derek Nattier, who as an undergrad founded Southern Valet, which focuses on valet parking with company operations in Columbia and Greenville; and Frank Scozzafava, who founded Scootaway Scooters, a scooter rental business controlled by a smartphone app for convenience and safety.

The conference continues Tuesday.

Kevin Ayres is president and co-owner of State Street Snacks, a snack food company based in Lexington off S.C. 6, that manufactures primarily caramel popcorns and sells them locally as well as to such national companies as Cracker Barrel, Rite-Aid and QuickTrip.

“What’s changed is there’s a greater emphasis on (entrepreneurship being applied to tourism) and people realizing how many small businesses there are that support the tourism industry in South Carolina,” said Ayres, who also teaches in the USC College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management.

“We all think of the big, giant properties in Myrtle Beach or down at Hilton Head, but in order to support those you have all these small companies that are doing all of this innovative stuff and supporting that larger part of the industry that gets all of the attention.”

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 7:39 PM with the headline "$18 billion S.C. tourism industry now more than beaches and golf."