GREENVILLE - The state's biggest industry has a bright future and a new commitment from state government, Gov. Mark Sanford said Thursday.

Tourism and the travel industry has been overlooked in state government, even though the $14.4 billion dollar industry generates 10 percent of tax revenue and is tied to one in eight jobs, Sanford said.

"The numbers are just staggering," Sanford said. "It is gargantuan by any measure."

Most recent figures show the industry has eclipsed textiles as the state's No. 1 export industry, bringing more new money into the economy than any other sector, officials with Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism said Thursday.

The change is significant in a state where textiles formed the backbone of the economy, said Isabel Hill, PRT Business and Community Development Director.

Tourism, which covers everything from museums to hotels, also is a major industry in the Southeast and worldwide, said Steve McClanahan, whose Memphis, Tenn.-based company, Unique, sells travel packages in 13 states in the South.

Sanford said his administration will give the overlooked industry attention it has not had in the past. Last week, he chose Horry County Council Chairman Chad Prosser to lead PRT. The choice highlights how important it was to have someone familiar with the tourism industry, Sanford said.

"If you look at the place on the shelf that travel and tourism has gotten, it hasn't be in its rightful spot," Sanford said. "A lot of people have secretly been on your side. What I am here to tell you is that Chad, myself, this entire administration is going to be on your side."

Sanford said people looking for destinations they can drive to and an aging baby boomer population make the future bright for South Carolina's tourism industry.

"Where we have done very well is the drive market," said Jim McElroy, director of communications at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Charleston. South Carolina attracts visitors from nearby urban areas such as Charlotte, N.C., and Atlanta.

Baby boomers are searching for cultural and eco-tourism, Sanford said. South Carolina offers both from its Upstate mountains to the historic Lowcountry.