Charleston tourism plans triumphant return after weird, weary 2021: ‘We will gather’
Next year will be better for tourism. Or so Charleston hopes.
After the coronavirus pandemic forced organizers to cancel or postpone the very events that act as the unofficial start of the Charleston tourist season, the three marquee events are back on the calendar for 2022 with high hopes that the familiar line-up will bring visitors — and a sense of normalcy — back to the city.
For the first time in two years, a falcon will again swoop toward a mesmerized crowd in Marion Square during the “Birds of Prey” flight demonstration at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition in February.
After taking a 2021 hiatus, chefs will once more test their culinary skills against a hot grill and unmerciful timer in the Waffle House Smackdown at the Charleston Wine + Food festival in March.
Plus, after a scaled back and postponed race in September, thousands of runners will catch an early morning shuttle to Mount Pleasant in April for the Cooper River Bridge Run, a 10k race over the iconic Arthur Ravenel Bridge.
While tourism did make a small comeback in the summertime when the city saw a spike in leisure travelers, the proclamation that these major events will return next spring reveals the optimism of Charleston’s tourist industry, which is now openly betting that visitors will be ready to travel and comfortable with large-scale, shoulder-rubbing, in-person events by early 2022.
“With these events back up and operating, we’re back to normal,” said Daniel Guttentag, the director of the College of Charleston’s Office of Tourism Analysis. “We will finally have a routine tourism year, which is what everybody is desperate for right now.”
Before the pandemic, the tourist season here has long been tied to a robust event calendar that begins with this trinity of events in the Holy City: The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, or SEWE, in February, followed by Charleston Wine + Food in March and the Cooper River Bridge Run in April.
The coronavirus disrupted that cadence in both 2020 and 2021, which is why SEWE’s 2022 date confirmation was so significant.
Though the expo is the first event on the calendar, it was the last to confirm its 2022 plans and, thus, solidified Charleston’s familiar pre-COVID rhythm. The event will run Feb. 17-20, and tickets go on sale Saturday.
“SEWE has a multifaceted mission, but never before in the history of this organization has the responsibility weighed heavier to shine a light on a South Carolina that is safe, accessible, and open for business,” said SEWE’s executive director John Powell. “We will gather in February and celebrate 40 years of one of Southeast’s favorite events.”
Helen Hill, the CEO of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and a SEWE board member, predicts this year’s event will be “one of the most highly anticipated ever after a pandemic-generated cancellation of last year’s event.”
These events also generate big bucks.
Charleston Wine + Food has become one of the biggest tourism draws of the year.
Despite a rainy opening day, its 2020 festival — held in early March, right on the cusp of the coronavirus’s deadly march through South Carolina — still attracted nearly 13,000 out-of-town attendees to Charleston and, overall, more than 28,000 people attended.
During its five-day run, Wine + Food had an economic impact of $19.9 million, with attendees spending an average of $1,063.95. And all that spending, according to the festival’s 2020 annual report, generated some $3 million in taxes.
This year, the festival will take place March 2-6, and its culinary village will be at Riverfront Park in North Charleston to accommodate the festival’s steady growth. It will also spread the festival across two cities in the process.
SEWE could be an even bigger shot in the arm for the region’s tourist industry.
In a statement, Powell said the three-day festival that promotes the arts and wildlife conservation also generates an economic impact of more than $35 million.
Optimism and precautions
But all this optimism still comes at a time of great uncertainty.
Back in March, when Gov. Henry McMaster announced that all residents 16 and older could receive a coronavirus vaccine, it seemed possible that the pandemic would soon fade into the past.
Instead, a combination of vaccine hesitancy and the ultra-contagious delta variant sent cases skyrocketing in the Palmetto State and, with it, derailed hopes for a normal school year.
While Charleston leads the state in administering more vaccine doses than any other county and has the highest percentage of fully vaccinated citizens, there are signs that the city isn’t quite comfortable returning to a new normal just yet.
This summer, Charleston reinstated some of its COVID-19 policies, such as requiring visitors to wear masks in city buildings, in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, in a statement to The State newspaper, said he is hopeful the city is rounding a corner on the coronavirus.
“If I’ve learned anything from a lifetime in Charleston, it’s this: Our citizens aren’t just strong, they’re resilient as well. And that’s what we’re seeing here, as high city vaccination rates, common-sense precautions by our residents, and robust local business growth combine to keep our recovery moving forward,” Tecklenburg said.
Plus, these spring events are building health and safety precautions into their operations.
Charleston Wine + Food has said it will require all guests, staff, talent and vendors to provide proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, or they must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the day or days they plan to attend.
An update on SEWE’s website promises its organizers will continue to monitor the pandemic and will “adjust plans accordingly to align with the health and wellness guidelines established by our local leaders.”
“All involved parties are committed to hosting a show that is safe and enjoyable for attendees, artists, partners, and staff,” the post stated.
Will other big events return?
Elsewhere, the debate rages on about whether and when to resume large-scale events.
Take Columbia, for example.
Organizers this week announced that Columbia’s “Famously Hot New Year” celebration will not take place in-person this year, citing continued concerns about the coronavirus and its variants.
Yet, this summer, the Five Points Association announced the return of its annual St. Pat’s in Five Points celebration next March. In a statement, the association noted the event draws about 45,000 attendees to Columbia each year, but in 2022 the group said it hopes to see that number grow to 55,000.
Back in Charleston, Guttentag said all signs point to a healthy return to pre-pandemic tourism levels and maybe even a greater pent-up demand, as the region saw this summer.
He points to the rescheduled Cooper River Bridge Run as a test case that could foreshadow what happens here this spring, so long as the pandemic does not derail plans yet again.
Though the latest Bridge Run took place in September — not April —and the race was capped at 25,000 people for an event that usually draws almost double that, Charleston hotels saw a noticeable boost.
That weekend, Guttentag said Charleston’s hotels reported a 1.4% higher occupancy rate than the same weekend in a pre-COVID 2019. Room nights sold, he continued, were 7% higher than 2019 levels.
“Lots and lots of people are going to come to these events, and we’ve had lots of people who undoubtedly have been missing them,” he said.
Other events on the calendar suggest a return to normal in the spring, too.
Typically known as the busiest weekend in Charleston, the weekend of the regularly scheduled April 2 Cooper River Bridge Run will be joined by two other major events that are sure to draw visitors.
After it hosts a rescheduled 2021 event that starts this Friday, the three-day Flowertown Festival plans to return to Summerville for its springtime festival on April 1.
And the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America, formerly known as the Volvo Car Open, will get underway on Daniel Island starting April 2.
Even now, in the typically sleepy fall season, there are other outward signs of Charleston’s hopeful rebound.
In September, a monthly downtown event called 2nd Sunday resumed for the first time in 18 months.
The free offering invites locals and tourists alike to experience a vehicle-free King Street on the second Sunday of each month when it closes King Street between Calhoun and Queen streets to all vehicular traffic from noon to 5 p.m.
The monthly event attracts 12,000-18,000 visitors downtown, according to Susan Lucas, president of the Charleston Peninsula Preservation Trust, the nonprofit that manages and produces the event.
“It’s the most popular and most regularly attended event on the peninsula,” Karl Krull, the nonprofit’s vice president, said in a news release this summer. “More than 1.5 million guests have patronized 2nd Sunday since its inception. We can’t wait to get it rolling again.”
The next 2nd Sunday event will happen this weekend, keeping the tradition alive.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 12:30 PM.
