Across SC, drivers hit the highway for Memorial Day weekend

WHO'S TRAVELING

Nearly half a million South Carolinians are expected to hit the road this Memorial Day weekend, the highest figure in 10 years, according to estimates provided by AAA Carolinas.

With gas prices more than a dollar lower than in 2014, 475,500 South Carolinians are expected to a take a road trip.

More than 538,000 residents are expected to travel over 50 miles from home, a AAA Carolinas release said.

AAA Carolinas estimated 441,550 traveled for Memorial Day 2014.

To make roads safer, the state will suspend construction projects along interstates and high-volume primary routes over the weekend.

Hotel and vacation-rental agencies in the Lowcountry say the overall number of travelers is rising thanks to the lower gas prices and an increase in flight routes to Savannah-Hilton Head International Airport.

WHAT IT WILL COST

Getting to your final destination will be cheaper, but accommodations will likely cost you more.

Heading into the three-day weekend, average gas price is $2.40 a gallon, well below the $3.46 travelers paid last year. That price is the lowest on Memorial Day since 2009, according to AAA Carolinas.

Most Lowcountry gas stations are even lower than the state average, ranging from $2.35 to $2.39, according to the gas price monitoring site GasBuddy.

Those coming in from outside South Carolina will find similar average prices in neighboring states -- from $2.47 in Tennessee to $2.62 in Florida and Georgia.

Local hotel room rates have slightly risen, matching a trend AAA Carolinas reported Tuesday.

The average nightly stay in a AAA Two Diamond hotel will cost $144, up 16 percent from 2014. A stay at a AAA Three Diamond hotel will cost $182, up seven percent from 2014.

Average daily rates -- a metric for hotel revenue that looks at the mean rate paid for the number of rooms sold -- is up 5.4 percent on Hilton Head and 4.4 percent in Beaufort, said University of South Carolina Beaufort hospitality management professor John Salazar.

Hotels in both northern and southern Beaufort County are fully booked, hotel officials said.

WHO'S WATCHING

Both the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the S.C. Highway Patrol will increase their presence over the holiday.

The Sheriff's Office will increase their presence on local roads and on bar detail at popular Hilton Head spots, Capt. Bob Bromage said. Sheriff's Office beach patrols will keep watch on Hilton Head and Hunting islands over the weekend, and marine patrol will be active throughout the weekend, Bromage said.

Highway Patrol will have extra patrols on highways and set up random road checkpoints, Senior Trooper Hannah Wimberly said. Wimberly said the agency's "100 Deadly Days" program starts Memorial Day and focuses on driving under the influence, seatbelt violations and speeding.

WHERE ARE THEY GOING

Hotels and resorts across Beaufort County expect big crowds, continuing an increase in vacationers that began last year.

Sonesta Resort Hilton Head Island general manager Jay Wiendl said the hotel anticipated selling out its 340 rooms after a record year in 2014. Wiendl said a strong spring has already put the Sonesta ahead of their record pace in 2014, and resort staff are gearing up to entertain a full house of travelers by planning activities for all ages.

"It looks like it's going to be another incredible season," he said. "We've been much busier than in years past."

The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa is close to selling out the resort's 416 rooms, said Gail Wargo director of sales and marketing at the hotel.

The busy weekend continues the strong growth in vacationers the Westin has had since spring break in March, Wargo said.

In Beaufort, all 21 rooms of the City Loft Hotel have been booked, assistant general manager Charlotte Berkeley said. Even the coffee shop below the hotel, City Java, has seen an increase in traffic in recent weeks, she said.

"It seems like more people are traveling this year," she said.

All 20 rooms of the Rhett House Inn on Craven Street are fully booked, continuing a strong spring after a busy summer in 2014, assistant general manager Yvonne Berkeley said.

Visitor volume is up across the Lowcountry in the first half of 2015, a positive sign for impending growth this summer, USCB's Salazar said.

USCB's hospitality management program uses data provided by the Hilton Head Island Visitors and Convention Bureau and Smith Travel Research to estimate visitor volume numbers for the region. It found that from January to March 2015, the number of estimated travelers visiting the Lowcountry was up three percent from 2014.

Revenue per available room, which measures occupancy rates and how much a hotel can charge, has increased 10 percent on Hilton Head, and 15 percent in Beaufort and Port Royal this year, Salazar said.

Higher consumer confidence in larger northern areas of the country that feed Lowcountry tourism have led to more people taking advantage of flights at the Savannah airport, officials said.

Wargo said the recent renovations at island resorts and the growth in amenities such as ZipLine Hilton Head and Segway tours are a factor in the recent growth in tourism.

"It's not just beach and golf here anymore," she said. "We've become so much more attractive by offering a varied menu of memorable activities."

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