The S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism has designated $500,000 of a $4.8 million advertising budget to run ads in magazines whose readers are primarily African-American.
A boycott of South Carolina by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has affected tourism somewhat. The boycott hit the state tourist destinations hard when it was first started. Heritage Days at Penn Center and the Gullah Festival in Beaufort were canceled one year, but they are in full swing again. To some, the boycott never mattered. Others have forgotten the boycott and the flag flap that started it.
Catering to African-American tourists makes economic sense for several reasons. African-Americans, who own businesses throughout Beaufort County and South Carolina, stand to gain financially just as other business owners gain. But the advertising program also is necessary because more areas are competing for this demographic segment of the tourism market.
In Maryland, the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau has printed a new African-American tourism guide. London is putting black history on the city scene by publishing a guide as tourism chiefs bid to attract new visitors from around the world. The Black Tourism Guide marks historical points of interest from the 16th century to today, including many that may be unfamiliar to Londoners.
More than 2 million African-American tourists visit South Carolina each year, infusing more than a quarter billion dollars into the economy. They contribute more than $21 million in state and local taxes, which helps support at least 5,000 jobs. About 20 percent of tourists who visit Beaufort County are black, according to Jim Wescott, executive director of the Lowcountry and Resort Islands Tourism Commission.
In 1997, South Carolina received about 5 percent of the national black travel market, according to one study, and ranked 13th among the 50 states. Shopping was the most popular activity for black tourists, followed by visiting the beach and attending cultural events and festivals. More up-to-date results are not available from PRT.
According to the University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth, U.S. buying power is expected to reach $7.1 trillion this year. "People of color make up about 18 percent of that figure, or $1.3 trillion a year. African-American consumers comprise the largest buying-power group at $572.1 billion. And the growth in their spending has outpaced that of white consumers, growing roughly 81 percent since 1990," the Selig Center reports.
Census 2000 data show African-Americans comprise the largest nonwhite ethnic group in the United States, at 36.4 million people. They make up 12.9 percent of the total U.S. population. According to the Selig Center, 3.7 million are considered affluent, with an annual income of $50,000 or more. Within this group, 1.4 million are considered upper-income, meaning they earn annual incomes of $75,000 or more.
Combined buying power of affluent African-Americans is expected to increase 32.9 percent over the next five years to top $292 billion per year by 2006, according to a Published Facts report.
Beaufort plays a significant role in helping to attract many of the tourist dollars to South Carolina. The Gullah Festival and Penn Center have brought national and international attention to Beaufort and the Sea Islands of South Carolina. If a Reconstruction-era monument and center comes to the county, it has the potential to attract even more African-American tourists. Statistics show that each dollar spent advertising state tourism returns $23 in sales. That's not a bad return.