Charleston tourism generated $14 billion in 2024: officials say visitors are spending more

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) Charleston’s tourism industry is booming, and this year saw a large increase in its economic growth. Officials are working to make sure the economic benefits of the tourism industry reach residents, with this upward trend.

The Future of Responsible Tourism Advocacy Aorum aims to create a roadmap for the tourism industry in the Lowcountry, with an emphasis on benefitting locals

Explore Charleston reports they had over 14 billion dollars in economic impact from the tourism industry just last year from around 7.8 million visitors.

“We’ve seen a spike that happened immediately out of covid. We’ve rebounded fairly quickly from covid, and we’ve seen a steady growth ever since then so it’s great to see still tracking on an upward trend even through 2024,” said Dan Blumenstock, the Board Chairman for Explore Charleston’s Board of Governors.

Officials say data from 2024 showed a 7 % increase in economic impact from the previous year, with just a 1% increase in visitors. According to officials, this trend means visitors to Charleston are spending more and staying longer, making Charleston one of the top tourism cities.

“If you look across the southeast and all those cities, we compare ourselves to, we are the strongest across all of those cities,” said Blumenstock.

The Historic Charleston Foundation is hosting the Future of Responsible Tourism Advocacy Forum Tuesday night. They are partnering with the City of Charleston, Explore Charleston and the Bloomberg Associates.

Bloomberg Associates will work with city leaders on a future road map for the tourism industry in Charleston and how they can improve their tourism management. Leaders say one goal is working to make sure that locals feel the economic impact of tourism.

“We need to make sure we are honoring the needs of the residents while at the same time honoring a smart strategic tourism vision,” said Winslow Hastie, the President of the Historic Charleston Foundation.

They’re hoping for tourism dollars to go straight back into the community.

“We’re very interested in focusing on how the dollars generated by tourism mainly in the public sector, accommodations tax and hospitality tax, how we can ensure those dollars are reinvested in the community to benefit the local community which also benefits tourists,” said Hastie.

The Bloomberg Associates are hoping to return in the fall with ideas to improve the tourism management in Charleston.