Posted on Sat, Sep. 23, 2006

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Newest state legislators learn importance of tourism

By Zane Wilson

The Sun News

The state House Freshman Caucus came to Myrtle Beach Friday to learn about the needs of the area and its tourism industry, and those who came said they did indeed learn something.

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce hosted 11 of the 15 freshmen state representatives, some of them Upstate residents who are not regular visitors to the beach.

"I learned more about what goes on in the industry," said state Rep. David Hiott, R-Pickens. "This is such a vital resource for the state of South Carolina."

"I learned that unless we improve the infrastructure and get [a regional] airport in here, we're never going to be able to grow Myrtle Beach as a tourist destination," said state Rep. Ted Vick, D-Chesterfield.

State Rep. Nikki Haley, R-Lexington, learned firsthand about access to Myrtle Beach. She got lost on the way. Rep. Nelson Hardwick, R-Surfside Beach, said that was a good demonstration for her of how badly Interstate 73 is needed.

"Our biggest problem is lack of interstate access," Hardwick said. "People come here in spite of the difficult time to get here."

Haley, chairwoman of the caucus, said members want to know more about how the state's top industry, tourism, works.

"In order to improve the quality of life of the people of South Carolina, we need to understand every region," she said.

Haley said in her first year, when she saw a $5 million allocation for beach renourishment, she was opposed to it. But her father-in-law, a real estate broker in Hilton Head Island, changed her mind.

She learned that if there are no beaches, the people won't come and neither will the money. It was an eye-opener, Haley said.

"These tourist destinations are hugely important to all of us," she said.

House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, said he has always supported beach renourishment, a process that rebuilds the sand on beaches after it washes away.

"It isn't to protect those big homes on the beach," Harrell said. It's to protect an asset that draws millions of tourists. If the beach isn't there, they'll stop coming, he said.

Chamber President Brad Dean gave the group some statistics to go with the lessons.

Myrtle Beach is the biggest tourism destination in the country without an interstate highway, he said. Even so, tourism is a $4 billion business in the combined Horry and Georgetown county areas.

That business provides 150,000 jobs, and they are not minimum wage as some people seem to think, Dean said.

Moreover, $299 million a year in sales, admissions and accommodations taxes flow into state coffers from the two counties, Dean said.

But Myrtle Beach is beginning to lose repeat visitors to competitors such as Virginia Beach, Va., and in surveys, 71 percent of those who were interested in coming here but did not come said it was because of the lack of an interstate highway, he said.

Chamber estimates based on surveys show 4 million more people would come each year if they had an interstate highway to ride on, Dean said.

Money for the estimated $2 billion cost of South Carolina's 60-mile portion of I-73 is still uncertain. Legislators can help the road get the money it needs, Dean said.

Legislators also need to be aware that South Carolina spends less on tourism promotion than its competitors, Dean said. The state can provide more money for promotion that will recapture repeat visitors and bring in new ones, he said.

Dean said the Myrtle Beach area has the potential to be a destination from areas such as Chicago and New York but not until there is better air and road service.

Haley said people in the Midlands wonder whether the planned Hard Rock Theme Park, scheduled to open in 2008 at the former Waccamaw Pottery site, can draw enough visitors to succeed.

"It's a big leap of faith," Dean said, but the potential is there for the visitors to come in the needed numbers.