What If There Were No Tourists?

Have you ever considered what the Grand Strand would be like if there were no tourists? If those 14 million visitors went somewhere else, how would our community feel and function? For most of us, it’s tempting to joyfully ponder the benefits of fewer tourists while we sit in traffic on Highway 501 or wait in line at our favorite restaurant. But consider our community without tourists?

Removing a $6.5 billion industry would change our area in many ways. To get a sense of what that would be like, we could draw comparisons to nearby communities, such as Dillon, Marion or Marlboro counties. Or we could draw comparisons to similarly-sized commmunities, like Aiken, York or Anderson counties. What types of jobs would be here? How well would our school district perform? How many residents would live here? Would we have a technical college and a university? How many restaurants, golf courses, live theatres and shopping malls would we have?

Click Below for Analyses on How Tourism Impacts These Areas:

• Taxes
• Population
• Restaurants
• Golf Courses
• Retail