Columbia scavenger hunt lets you be a tourist in your own town
Get in touch with your inner tourist for National Travel and Tourism Week.
You don’t have to have family in town or be new to the area to enjoy the wealth of attractions in Columbia.
And what better way to experience the city than discovering its hidden gems through a scavenger hunt?
Experience Columbia SC (formerly The Midlands Authority for Conventions, Sports & Tourism) created The Real Southern Scavenger Hunt to celebrate Tourism week. The hunt is Saturday, May 13.
The free, walkable hunt will have about 20 stops and will include a mix of clues and tasks. Teams of up to four people can compete for prizes, but it’s not a race. Organizers are encouraging people to spend a little time at each location to truly take it in.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get people moving through Columbia and experiencing places and businesses they maybe haven’t before,” said Dayna Cantelmi, a marketing and communications associate for Experience Columbia SC. “Whether it’s a location they drive by each day without noticing or a place they’ve always wanted to check out but never had the time, we want to highlight the beloved institutions and hidden gems that make Columbia such a special place to visit and live.”
Bonus points for fanny packs and socks with sandals.
Rules
Photos or videos must be taken at each location for each task and be posted to social media. The teams must tag each location in these posts, as well as use the hashtags #RealColumbiaSC and #NTTW17.
Upon completion of the hunt, teams will be entered into a drawing for a number of prizes. Winners will be announced by Wednesday, May 31.
Prizes
All of the prizes are not finalized yet, but some confirmed ones are tickets to a suite at a Fireflies game, gift certificates to Sweet Cream Co. and Cantina 76, admission to Riverbanks Zoo & Garden and T-shirts.
Details
When: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, May 13
The first clue for the first location will be posted on the Facebook event page.
Columbia tourism facts
▪ The Columbia region welcomes 14.5 million visitors annually.
▪ Tourism is a $1.9 billion industry in Columbia.
▪ The tourism industry provided 19,000 jobs in the Columbia area and generates nearly $101 million in state and local taxes.
Source: Experience Columbia SC
This story was originally published May 10, 2017 at 9:15 AM with the headline "Columbia scavenger hunt lets you be a tourist in your own town."