In recommending a $2.4 million reduction in the PRT's current $55.5 million budget, Sanford called for privatization of state-run campgrounds and golf courses and asked for more funds to be transferred to a grant program that matches spending by regional organizations that court travelers.

The proposed budget would not hurt the state's ability to drum up tourism business but may require cuts in staffing, according to Chad Prosser, the Grand Strand real estate executive whom Sanford picked to head the PRT last year.

"I feel very confident that with the budget that's proposed, we can continue the mission of the department," Prosser said. "There may, indeed, be some reductions in staff ... but you certainly won't see the kind of layoffs we saw last year."

Since Prosser took over, PRT has cut about 40 full-time employees and scaled back the equivalent of 89 additional full-time positions. The department also bought out 12 full-timers and left 29 unfilled positions unfilled. It now employs about 500 people.

About $1.4 million of the proposed cuts in the PRT's budget would come through privatization of campgrounds, golf courses and restaurants now owned and operated by the state.

Prosser said these privatization plans would not mean a closing of state parks or a wholesale selling of park property. The PRT runs 46 state parks, earning $16 million in revenue from just five of its parks. He said the governor has been looking at several specific properties, none of which he has identified.

Almost $1 million of Sanford's proposed cuts are in "pass through" money, dollars earmarked for PRT activities by the General Assembly that come from the general fund. Sanford wants another $400,000 in "special contributions" axed from the PRT budget, money that has been used to help cover expenses at the Greenville Zoo, the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia and some marketing initiatives in Canada.

A 15 percent cut in the department's travel, meals and phone expenses, about $190,000, is also part of the plan.

Sanford also proposed a $700,000 boost to a new $2.5 million PRT grant program that matches funds put up by regional and local tourism organizations. Charleston's Convention and Visitors Bureau gets about 20 percent of the state grant money in any given year.

While regional tourism organizations collectively will have to come up with $700,000 to grab any of those dollars, tourism officials said the money could yield a better return because it will be spent promoting specific destinations.

"People aren't vacationing in the state of South Carolina; they're vacationing in Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Hilton Head," said Tom Sponseller, president of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina. "We've always advocated to build up the (grant program)."

This year's budget included an 11 percent increase in the grant program.

"Generally, going to grants is a good thing because that means it really does go into promotion; it gets out of the paperclip-and-supplies area," said Lanneau Siegling, general manager of Embassy Suites in downtown Charleston and chairman of the board of the Hospitality Association of South Carolina.

Sanford also called for a $4 million nonrecurring appropriation to be replaced with a one-time injection from the South Carolina Public Service Authority, also known as Santee Cooper Power. In mid-December, Santee Cooper's board of directors voted to approve a land sale that will inject $13 million into state coffers.

Helen Hill, head of the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Thursday she is worried that the hole that will be left by the Santee Cooper contribution won't get filled by state legislators when funds are doled out for the 2005-06 fiscal year.

"The budget (proposed by Sanford) doesn't scare me except for the $4 million," Hill said. "I'm very concerned about making sure we retain that money because it's an imperative part of the state's advertising budget."

The current PRT budget is 11.7 percent less than its 2002-03 appropriation. While making substantial cuts in payroll, Prosser earmarked a record $11.8 million, 25 percent of PRT's budget, for commercials and glossy spreads promoting the state in travel magazines, citing marketing research that showed such ads generate about $23 for every $1 invested.

The Palmetto State ranked 22nd in tourism spending last year, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Florida and Pennsylvania all shelled out more to court visitors.

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