Charleston has about the same number of visitors compared to four years ago, but they’re spending a whole lot more, according to a recent analysis.
From 2019 to 2022, the number of visitors in Charleston increased from 7.43 million to 7.68 million, or about 3%, according to the Office of Tourism Analysis at the College of Charleston. But in the same time span, tourism spending rose over 32%, from $9.67 billion to $12.82 billion, the report said.
This increased spending is the result of a complex set of factors. One is rising restaurant prices, due to, among other things, costs on the supply end, as outlined in a 2022 Charleston City Paper article. (In fact, “dining/food” accounts for more than one-fifth of a Charleston tourist’s 2022 average $1,026 in spending.)
The increased economic impact could also be a side effect of inflation, which peaked in 2022 at above 8%, significantly higher than its 2% level in 2019.
But Mark Witte, the interim director of the office that did the analysis, noted lodging and retail shopping, with 2022 spending increases of 17.7% and 13.2% respectively, were “well above the 6.5% CPI inflation rate from 2022. This suggests that both the prices paid as well as the quantity of lodging and retail sales increase.”
A third factor in rising tourism revenues was that the area now offers more hotel rooms — even though fewer, proportionally, are occupied. Despite an increase in more than 1,000 occupied rooms since 2019 in Charleston, the inventory in 2022 was 1.7% lower. Plus, the per-room cost was $30 more expensive, on average, Witte said. Research indicates “the price of a room per night in the area increased about 10% from 2021 to 2022.”
Finally, it’s just easier to get here.
“The growth in the number of airlines serving Charleston International [Airport] and the increase in seat capacity to more destinations increases accessibility and affordability,” Explore Charleston spokesman Chris Campbell said. With more people flying, there’s been a substantial increase in passenger traffic — and spending from passenger pocketbooks.
Is anyone left behind?
Campbell said the overall tourism data “indicates progress towards the industry’s goal to create the highest yield visit and maximize downstream benefits for the community.” But which community?
Campbell added taxes from tourists go toward paying for “projects like the Low Battery Seawall and beach renourishment.” But the Coastal Conservation League said it is concerned about why communities like Rosemont, an older-age Black neighborhood, and Bridgeview Village, an affordable housing complex, have been excluded from the $2 billion proposal.
A New York Times article in 2020 said “the influx of expensive hotels and tourist shops has driven up the cost of living in Charleston and sent the working class — many of whom are African-American — to less expensive parts of the region.”
Working-class people are traveling here less, too. The tourism analysis showed the proportion of tourists from the lowest income bracket dropped 3% — from 11.6% of visitors in 2019 to 8.6% three years later.
And expensive tourist shops are only catering to the demographic of their visitors.
“What’s remarkable is that in 2022, the percentage of visitors with an income over $100,000 was 53.8% compared to only 35% of U.S. households,” Witte said.
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