Tourism is South Carolina's No. 1 industry, and could become an even greater economic force if the current level of per-tourist spending, $262, climbs closer to the national average of $464. Gov. Mark Sanford has issued a timely challenge to those in the industry to encourage that boost.

The governor has some ideas of his own, including a major advertising campaign to promote South Carolina to prospective visitors. As Kyle Stock reported recently in this newspaper, the governor's budget, though reducing tourism funding overall, seeks a 21 percent increase in the state's Tourism Marketing Partnership Program, which coordinates with local advertising initiatives. The governor's budget also seeks to save $1.4 million by privatizing more of the state's tourism promotion. And the governor is advancing "cross-pollination" between the Commerce and Parks, Recreation and Tourism departments in pursuit of bigger-spending tourists.

But the "ultimate challenge" of maximizing this state's tourism profits is attracting more international visitors, according to Clemson University Tourism Professor Bill Norman. The mere presence of a "tourism professor" at Clemson demonstrates how important this industry has become to South Carolina. Gov. Sanford, at a tourism conference in Myrtle Beach recently, correctly pointed out the difference a few decades can make:

"Think about where we have come as a state since 1969, in terms of tourism and at a time when you weren't even recognized as an economic-development force." He added: "We have a God-given competitive advantage on this front and it ain't going anywhere."

That competitive advantage includes assets such as historic Charleston, Dorchester's Ashley River Road plantations and the ACE Basin, along with the state's wealth of beaches and golfing destinations. If you can imagine South Carolina's economy thriving without maintaining and even improving an already-healthy tourist industry, review these statistics:

Visitors spent $7.2 billion in our state in 2003 and overall economic impact of tourism now surpasses $14.6 billion annually. In the Charleston metropolitan area, visitors paid nearly 14 percent of the sales taxes in 2003.

So if you can imagine new ideas on how to advance tourism to the next level, forward them to the governor or PRT. And keep being nice to our tourists. It's good manners -- and good business.