Charleston Tourism by the Numbers

Charleston Tourism by the Numbers

Bing Pan, Ph.D. Office of Tourism Analysis, School of Business, College of Charleston

May 21, 2015

Introduction

• Office of Tourism Analysis, School of Business, College of Charleston, has been funded mainly by CACVB and the College of Charleston since 2005

• Dr. Bing Pan, originally from China, received his Ph.D. in Tourism Management from the University of Illinois, was a Post-Doc Fellow at Cornell University, and has worked in the Office since 2005

“We are at a tipping point…” “This city has tipped over…”

--------- Comments from Charleston residents, Post and Courier, June 12, 2014

This is NOT New…

Tourism Impact and Management Study, Charleston, South Carolina, 1978

We need accurate numbers, however estimating tourism numbers is tricky…

The Story of Blind Men and An Elephant

Indicators of the Tourism Industry

• Behavioral Indicators– Foot traffic, attendance at gated events, number of

cars, cruise passenger count, traffic on CVB website• Financial Indicators

– Revenue and taxes• Supply Indicators

– Hotel inventory

Content

• Current tourism stats • Recent history• Comparison with other cities• Data Sources:

– Visitor intercept survey– Household survey – Industrial reports– Star Travel Report (STR)

What is a Charleston visitor?• Due to the tight economic connection in the Charleston-

Berkeley-Dorchester tri-county area, a Charleston visitor is considered any traveler from outside the tri-county area taking a trip to the area, for less than a year, for any purpose other than to be employed in Charleston. These purposes could include business, leisure, or other personal purpose.

Overall Numbers (2014)

• About 5 million annual visitors, 90% stay overnight• $2.6 billion direct spending; $3.3 billion economic

impact• 13% of total Charleston tri-county area’s economy• Generated $309 million in tax dollars• Supports 39K jobs in the area, or 1/13 private jobs in

Charleston

Employment Numbers (2013)

Rank Aggregated IMPLAN Industry Sectors Direct Jobs1 Percent

1 Retail Trade 38,979 11.0%2 Health Care & Social Services 35,388 10.0%3 Professional & Technical Services 33,054 9.3%4 Administrative & Waste Services 31,103 8.8%5 Non-Resident Tourism 27,299 7.7%6 Other Services 26,918 7.6%7 Real Estate & Rental 24,859 7.0%8 Manufacturing 24,247 6.9%9 Construction 21,848 6.2%

Charleston Visitor Demographics, 2014

9% of Visitors are International

Charleston Visitor Demographics, 2014MSA # %New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA 36 5.5Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH MSA 20 3.1Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV MSA 20 3.1Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI MSA 18 2.8Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC MSA 15 2.4Columbia, SC MSA 15 2.3Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC MSA 15 2.2Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort, SC MSA 14 2.2Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL MSA 12 1.8Baltimore-Towson, MD MSA 11 1.8Greenville-Mauldin-Easley, SC MSA 11 1.7Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI MSA 10 1.6Raleigh-Cary, NC MSA 9 1.4Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA MSA 9 1.4Akron, OH MSA 9 1.3Spartanburg, SC MSA 9 1.3Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN MSA 8 1.3St. Louis, MO-IL MSA 8 1.3Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA MSA 8 1.3Pittsburgh, PA MSA 8 1.3

Top 20 Origination MSAs

Charleston Visitor Demographics, 2014

1828

52

24 27

5561

116 118

129

63

104

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

Age of Visitors

Charleston Visitor Demographics, 2014

41.2%

37.5%

6.9%

5.4% 4.8%

0.8%1.9% 1.1% 0.3%

Employment Status

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

Charleston Visitor Demographics, 2014

Income # %

Up to $44,999 75 12.1

$45,000 - $59,999 72 11.5

$60,000 - $74,999 77 12.4

$75,000 - $99,999 132 21.3

$100,000 - $124,999 99 16.0

$125,000 - $149,999 54 8.7

$150,000 - $199,999 52 8.3

$200,000 + 61 9.8

Annual Household Income

Charleston Visitor Demographics, 2014

Mode of Transportation # %Personal Vehicle 482 65.3Airplane 136 18.4Rental Vehicle 45 6.1Flew to Another City and then Rented a Car* 43 5.8Other 16 2.2Amtrak 7 0.9Cruise Ship 7 0.9Private Boat 3 0.4Chartered Bus 1 0.1

Mode of Transportation

*The major middle cities were Savannah, GA (12); Atlanta, GA (7), Charlotte, NC (6); Myrtle Beach, SC (5); and Baltimore, MD (4).

Number of Events in the City2009 – 2013: 63.0% of Increase

Data Source: Special Event Committee, City of Charleston

254

316 366354

414

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Series1 Series2

Series3 Series4

Airport Traffic

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

834,787

1,357,813

Charleston International Airport Enplanement

Recession

Data Source: FAA and Charleston International Airport

2000-2013: 62.7% of increaseRecession

40.8% visitors, 59.2% residents-- 2007 Office of Tourism Analysis Survey

Cruise Ship Traffic Trends

Data Source: South Carolina Port Authority2000-2013: 546.7% increase in passengers

18

88

29,084

188,082

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

Series1 Series2

Hotel Room Supply Trends

Data Source: Smith Travel Research

2,544 3,569

7,184

909 1,675

4,253

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000Series1 Series2 Series3

Series4 Series5 Series6

Series7

Hotel Room Demand Trends (Roomnights Sold)

Data Source: Smith Travel Research

672,608 1,033,816

235,181 468,412

1,076,660

1,828,873

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

3,500,000

4,000,000

4,500,000

5,000,000Series1 Series2 Series3

Series4 Series5 Series6

Series7

Recession

Recession

Compare Room Supply Peninsula vs. Non-Peninsula

2,261 3,569

6,852

14,528

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

Available Hotel Room Comparision

Series1 Series2

Compare Room Demand Peninsula vs. Non-Peninsula

825,265 1,302,554

2,501,060

5,302,698

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

Annual Roomnights Sold Comparision

Series1 Series2

Peninsula North Charleston

Mt. Pleasant

West Ashley City County Tri-County

Area

Tri-County Non-

PeninsulaNational

Supply 40.3% 87.4% 155.1% 78.2% 56.3% 74.3% 67.9% 76.4% 44.1%

Demand 53.7% 92.3% 157.3% 92.8% 69.9% 84.8% 76.0% 76.4% 38.7%

Hotel Room Supply & Demand Trends, 1994-2013

Data Source: Smith Travel Research

Population Change

Data Source: U.S. Census BureauCity of CHS 1990-2012 21.4%CHS County 1994-2012 19.1%Tri-County 1994-2012 32.6%

United States 1994-2012 20.5%

103,477 116,278 125,583

526,130

697,439

0

100000

200000

300000

400000

500000

600000

700000

800000Series1 Series2 Series3

Person-Trips Per Capita

• TNS Global’s household survey, 18,000 monthly, 2011-2013

• Person-Trips Per Capita = (Estimated average annual person-trips in 3 years, in thousands )/(average city population in 3 years, in thousands)

• 499 cities in the United States

Person-Trips Per Capita

Rank City/Town Person-Trips per Capita

1 Tunica, MS 1,5252 Wisconsin Dells, WI 1,374

18 Myrtle Beach, SC 22950 Orlando, FL 10966 Aspen, CO 7883 Hilton Head, SC 5995 Santa Barbara, CA 49

102 Charleston, SC 44116 Florence, SC 39119 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 37122 Savannah, GA 37143 Las Vegas, NV 33149 Columbia, SC 32239 New Orleans, LA 20269 San Francisco, CA 18317 Boulder, CO 15322 Boston, MA 14489 Greenville/Spartanburg, SC 3496 New York City 2

Comparison with Peer CitiesCity Country

Charleston, SC United StatesSavannah, GA United StatesBoulder, CO United StatesAspen, CO United StatesBoston, MA United StatesNew Orleans, LA United StatesSan Francisco, CA United StatesQuebec City CanadaAmsterdam The NetherlandDublin IrelandGothenburg SwedenMalaga SpainSalzburg AustriaVenice ItalyHamilton Bermuda

Comparison with Downtown of Peer Cities

Country City Hotels Per Square Mile

Hotel Rooms per

Square Mile

Restaurants Per Capita (X1,000)

Hotels Per Capita (X

1,000)

Hotel Rooms Per Capita (X

1,000)

Restaurants Per Square

Mile

United States New Orleans, LA 28.34 5,558.31 120.11 31.12 6,104.42 109.37United States Boulder, CO 27.27 3,981.82 47.83 2.61 380.87 500.00United States Boston, MA 17.56 3,921.37 11.79 0.63 141.17 327.48The NetherlandAmsterdam 61.90 3,849.95 N/A 2.40 148.98 N/AUnited States San Francisco, CA 15.94 2,560.08 5.75 0.73 116.54 126.28Italy Venice 50.53 2,074.15 7.65 2.25 92.35 171.82Canada Quebec City 20.86 1,535.25 N/A N/A N/A 114.39Bermuda Hamilton 7.32 1,173.17 22.22 1.67 267.22 97.56United States Savannah, GA 8.37 834.31 8.00 1.85 184.48 36.19Ireland Dublin 7.94 727.35 N/A N/A N/A N/AUnited States Charleston, SC 5.22 591.15 6.63 1.02 115.83 33.82United States Aspen, CO 6.86 424.57 N/A N/A N/A 41.71Spain Malaga 3.66 330.04 N/A N/A N/A 74.73Sweden Gothenburg N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/AAustria Salzburg N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 46.56

Comparison with Peer Cities

Country City Hotels Per Square Mile

Hotel Rooms per Square

Mile

Restaurants Per Capita (X1,000)

Hotels Per Capita (X

1,000)

Hotel Rooms Per Capita (X

1,000)

Restaurants Per Square

MileUnited States San Francisco, CA 4.76 723.38 3.30 0.27 41.05 58.22United States Aspen, CO 6.86 424.57 21.86 3.59 222.46 41.71Ireland Dublin 3.43 421.14 1.94 0.29 35.12 23.32United States Boston, MA 1.57 394.93 1.76 0.12 29.96 23.16The NetherlandAmsterdam 6.22 378.38 2.83 0.51 31.05 34.47Austria Salzburg 3.94 224.69 2.67 0.67 38.43 15.60United States New Orleans, LA 0.86 151.65 3.23 0.40 69.58 6.60United States Savannah, GA 1.18 118.50 3.55 0.86 86.06 4.89United States Boulder, CO 0.85 89.92 2.66 0.21 21.82 10.97United States Charleston, SC 0.53 65.56 3.47 0.46 56.89 4.00Italy Venice 1.18 60.83 3.25 0.70 35.97 5.49Canada Quebec City 0.46 31.84 2.60 0.16 10.80 7.65Spain Malaga 0.29 28.77 1.89 0.08 7.84 6.93Bermuda Hamilton 0.15 23.35 13.00 0.87 138.98 20.45Sweden Gothenburg 0.38 N/A 1.86 0.13 N/A 5.29

Concluding Remarks

• One of the biggest industries in the Charleston area. Generates $3.3 billion total impact; supports almost 40K jobs.

• The City of Charleston’s visitor volume has higher growth than the national average: roughly 70% increase in visitor volume in the last 20 years; 2.7% annually on average

• The visitor volume in the tri-county area grew more: 76% in the last 20 years, and 2.9% annual growth

• Peninsula had a more controlled growth than the City and the tri-county area due to the City’s successful management

Acknowledgements

• Funding from the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau• Melinda Patience, Research Coordinator, Office of Tourism

Analysis, College of Charleston

Email

[email protected]