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CVB unveils plan to make Gville a major Tourist destination.


vicupstate

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This is a lot of dissection of one commercial, because the state does promote tourism for the whole state, but...based on the document you linked to, the coastal counties account for approximately 65% of travel spending in South Carolina, that number isn't going down anytime soon. The Upstate counties, about 15%, with a plurality of the rest ending up in the midlands/ Aiken area.

That document doesn't differentiate between tourist/ destination spending and business travel spending as far as I can tell. I would expect that lots of Greenville's outsider spending comes from business travel spending, which is wonderful, but not really the same as tourist spending.

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TV commercials are VERY expensive. You don't use them to advertise a product, that let's face it, does NOT exist. No one would take a week's vacation in Greenville.

Stop by for a visit on the way somewhere else, yes. Come in for a day or two or maybe a long weekend, yes. Stay for a week - no. The state goes more bang for it's buck with longer-stay visitors. That is why the expensive tools are used to get them. You can't justify spending air time on getting a few more overnight visitor's.

The reason the legislators don't think Gville has anything to offer as a convention site, is because just a few years ago it was true. It wasn't that long ago that Falls Park was hidden by a bridge and the West End field was a hugh eyesore. It takes TIME and EXPOSURE to get the word out to people that don't even live here.

Only in the last few years has Gville even attempted to cultivate a true leisure-tourist economy. It's going to take time to get to the level places like Charleston are at now. Only then will TV ads be justified.

Getting the 'Go Greenville' master plan implemented is the first order of business. Once we have matured as a tourist market, THEN the TV commercials will come into the picture. At this stage, we have no more justification than Columbia for getting the big budget expenditures from PRT.

Yes, the "GO" experience will be a tremendous boost from the local government, but we are talking about a seperate state-driven campaign here. If the state were to hand back the portion of taxpayer money it would use to promote the Upstate in the campaign I would be completely in favor. Since they are using our money to promote the Coastal areas but are not executing what I firmly believe is totally justifiable investment in advertising our region, then they have no business being in office. Actually, Greenville is a fantastic city to hold conventions in, regardless of what some may think. If that were not the case then we wouldn't have so much new investment in town and we would suck at attracting large events with national exposure. Greenville has shown over the years that it is definitely ready to play host to just about anything you could imagine (within reason of course). I don't buy this garbage that these nice new downtown attractions are the only thing making people suddenly aware that the city actually exists.

No, we don't need a TV AD campaign to get the word out about this awesome place, but since our money is being spent in this major PR campaign, we have every right to expect just accolades for everything this place means and offers to visitors and newcomers. In my opinion it is far more than you could find along the coast - plus it is far more affordable.

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This is a lot of dissection of one commercial, because the state does promote tourism for the whole state, but...based on the document you linked to, the coastal counties account for approximately 65% of travel spending in South Carolina, that number isn't going down anytime soon. The Upstate counties, about 15%, with a plurality of the rest ending up in the midlands/ Aiken area.

That document doesn't differentiate between tourist/ destination spending and business travel spending as far as I can tell. I would expect that lots of Greenville's outsider spending comes from business travel spending, which is wonderful, but not really the same as tourist spending.

Yes, Greenville does get a lot of business travel. Business travel includes conventions, meetings, etc. All things that also qualify as tourism dollars ANYWHERE in the state. We could possibly have a lot more, but who's going to find out about our great business climate or attractions from a state website, if they seek one for help??

Our lack of representation at the state level for tourism is true from the past, but I'm sure our lack of political clout right now doesn't help.

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If I wanted a weekend in the mountains, I wouldn't come to Greenville. Getting up and driving 45 minutes to a hour to go to the mountains would be a waste of precious weekend time. That's what Asheville, Highlands, Cashiers or Boone are for. If I wanted a lake experience for the weekend, coming to Greenville is out of the way, best just go to Seneca or such for that.

Sorry, this is just silly. Billions of dollars come to South Carolina from people coming to Myrtle Beach, Charleston or Hilton Head. Visiting Falls Park, a show at the Peace Center or what not is a wonderful experience for a couple of days or so, but you won't draw millions from Ohio, Tennessee, Georgia or Kentucky for it. I'm glad folks visit and have a nice time, but as a long term tourist destination, Greenville just doesn't have it at the moment.

That's true. Those are reasons to live in Greenville not visit Greenville per se unless you want to stop over and stay with friends or family or go to an entertainment event. One thing that Greenville has kind of always been known for but has never seen the full potential is a convention destination. Their is a lot of conventions, seminars and the like in the line of work I do but for the most part those things go to L.A., Boston, Orlando and if we are lucky you might see a tech related convention in Atlanta. With all the large companies locating and located in Greenville it would seem like Greenville or at least the Upstate in general could do a better job at attracting conventions, expos, etc. People could come here for something like that and continue with a potential vacation in the surround lakes or mountains.

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That document doesn't differentiate between tourist/ destination spending and business travel spending as far as I can tell. I would expect that lots of Greenville's outsider spending comes from business travel spending, which is wonderful, but not really the same as tourist spending.

You hit on something. I think people are taking the word "tourism" to mean a family of four, in the station wagon, wearing shorts and t-shirts with cameras in tow, out for the week.

Much of Greenville's "tourism" is the business traveler and that is an excellent thing. I can tell you, as a business traveler myself, when I'm in other cities, I stay in much nicer hotels when the company is footing the bill vs. when I personally pay. Taking clients to dinner at hip retaurants, I'm sure I spend much more that a family of four with a planned budget for their vacation. Dollars are dollars from tourism......doesn't matter where those dollars come from. So it's a great thing we have a large percentage of business travelers.....they spend money. :thumbsup:

My concern, again, is that the state is overlooking a region that does contribute greatly in tourism dollars (and could contribute much more with proper state support).

Maybee Upstate could become it's own little state? :lol:

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Maybee Upstate could become it's own little state? :lol:

I hate to say it, well maybe I don't but when ever I am talking on other forums, etc. I always try to distance my hometown (Greenville) from the rest of South Carolina and talk about how different the Upstate is from the rest of the State. The Upstate has a totally different culture from Columbia towards the coast. If anything the Upstate is closer in culture to Western North Carolina and the Charlottte Metrolina area than the rest of South Carolina. I still feel "at home" when I go to Asheville, Hendersonville or Charlotte than I do when visiting Columbia or Charleston or Myrtle Beach. You would be amazed at how many people in other countries or other parts of the the U.S. think we are nothing but cotton fields, etc.

We will probably never be able to be another state in our life time but I'm all for promoting regions of "districts" rather than lumping us within the state for the sake of it.

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If the state is content to spend a disproportionate amount of money marketing the coast to tourists, then to be fair they should also spend a disproportionate amount providing incentives to help the upstate lure more corporate headquarters and expansions. After all, business is what we do in the upstate. But that will never happen, because the coastal bias evident in this state (including the government) would never allow it. We all know it's true. This is despite the fact that the upstate has around 1/3 of the entire state's population and has a great track record in terms of economic development.

But back to the topic at hand. We should not have to prove ourselves as a tourist destination in order to receive some support from the state. This isn't just about television commericals, either. Go to state tourism websites and you will see very few pictures of the upstate, aside from an obligatory picture of Caesar's Head or Table Rock. You rarely see Greenville proper. You see loads of Myrtle Beach, Charleston, and Hilton Head pictures. You see images of coastal plantations and lazy days spent sitting on the porch, not big business and commerce along the I-85 corridor. That is painting an inaccurate picture of our state, and I think it costs us a lot (no pun intended).

How many people view a state tourism website or commercial and come away thoroughly unimpressed with our state? If I were an outsider who had never been to South Carolina, I would assume that it was nothing but a slow pace of life, beaches, old plantations, and golfing. I would know nothing about the growth, sophistication, commerce, and progressiveness that is found in areas like Greenville. And as a twenty-something who is looking for opportunities to experience life to the fullest, SC would not be anywhere near the top of my list of places to visit. That is something our leaders need to think about.

I really liked the point gsupstate made above about tourism not just being a family of four with kids who spend a week at a destination. While Greenville is a great weekend destination, I definitely think our niche is marketing toward business travelers and convention goers. New Orleans is a city well-known for developing itself into a convention city. Why shouldn't Greenville commit itself to doing the same? An LRT or even BRT connection to downtown, plus some serious redevelopment along Pleasantburg drive around the Carolina First Center, would do wonders. Big and innovative changes there over the next 5 years could really provide us a competitive advantage in luring conventions in the years to follow.

Have there been any studies conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing a city in other airports? What if Greenville started advertising itself as a great weekend destination or place for travel in the airports which already have direct flights to and from GSP? This alone would probably create some buzz and interest, although I am not sure how much that sort of thing costs. It would seemingly hit a wide range of people, though - all with the means to travel for business or pleasure.

The GO Center is definitely something that needs to be constructed soon. Any idea what the timetable is for that?

Finally, I think Greenville is MUCH more than a city that is close to mountains and lakes. While those are assets we should play up, we also have a lot to offer in terms of international flavor, great restaurants, a very strong arts scene, and cleanliness. We're not just for outdoor enthusiasts looking to hike or fish!

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This is despite the fact that the upstate has around 1/3 of the entire state's population...

That's a pretty liberal figure. It's closer to a quarter, but it's still the most populous region of the state.

I'm not exactly sure how the duties of the state tourism department differ from that of local CVBs besides a statewide vs. local focus, but it sounds as though what's been cited in the past few posts (conventions, business travel, etc.) is the duty of the local CVB. I don't think New Orleans is an appropriate comparison here in terms of conventions; the convention industry does (or at least did, pre-Katrina; not sure how the city is faring now) well in New Orleans because people already go to New Orleans just to see the city and take in the local flavor and culture which encompasses everything from geographical location to music to cuisine. So even without the convention industry, New Orleans would still be recognized as a tourist hot spot. A better comparison might be Orlando or possibly Atlanta, which worked dilligently to carve out a convention niche by constructing venues, creating attractions, etc.

I think Greenville's best bet is, as I've been saying all along, to partner with western NC to promote regional tourism.

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I still feel "at home" when I go to Asheville, Hendersonville or Charlotte than I do when visiting Columbia or Charleston or Myrtle Beach. You would be amazed at how many people in other countries or other parts of the the U.S. think we are nothing but cotton fields, etc.

The same goes for the NC cities you mention. Before becoming interested in urban issues, I thought Asheville was nothing but a small hick town in the mountains. And you'd be amazed at how many people think Charlotte is just like Fayetteville or Roanoke Rapids, NC based on simply passing through those cties on I-95 and knowing that Charlotte is located in the same state (or at least one of those Carolinas). Face it, this is the South. We make bigger deals out of issues that non-Southerners don't because we live here. As far as they're concerned, if it's in the South and it isn't Atlanta or Miami, it's pure country.

Sorry for the digression; back to the topic at hand.

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If the state is content to spend a disproportionate amount of money marketing the coast to tourists, then to be fair they should also spend a disproportionate amount providing incentives to help the upstate lure more corporate headquarters and expansions. After all, business is what we do in the upstate. But that will never happen, because the coastal bias evident in this state (including the government) would never allow it. We all know it's true. This is despite the fact that the upstate has around 1/3 of the entire state's population and has a great track record in terms of economic development.

This cuts to the heart of the matter. Unfair distribution and imagery of marketing.

Thankfully Greenville has been seeing a great increase in tourism....and it's mostly because of regional leadership and private leadership in Upstate, not state leadership. I've noticed since I moved to SC, most positive things that happen in Upstate, happen because of great regional leadership and in spite of poor state leadership.

I agree with you linkerjpatrick, from day one in Greenville, I've felt like areas of Western NC are more a part of my daily life and have more relevance, than areas of South Carolina outside the Upstate.

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Seeing how the coastal areas receive about 65% of the visitors revenue, should other regions of the state: Midlands or Upstate, etc. have a greater ratio of state promotional dollars than other non coastal areas of the state? How about what should the ratio be in relation to the coastal areas of the state?

So the non-coastal areas of the state receive 35% of SC visitors' revenue. The question is, do the non-coastal areas of the state receive recognition/promotion in 35% of tourism commercials and websites? Not even close! I would be shocked if the rest of the state gets 10%. Seriously.

Nobody here is suggesting that the state abandon the beaches/golf/family fun angle it has taken for years. But we can all agree, based on the numbers, that the state has slighted the rest of the state with regard to promoting tourism.

Let's be honest: our state tourism commercial makes SC only look slightly less boring than South Dakota's commercial did for that state. And I would argue that we have a lot more to offer, overall, than South Dakota!

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Does anyone have any comparisons for say, how South Carolina vs. North Carolina in state government tourism promotion?

How about the promotional budget for different regions of the state, beyond this one TV commercial that I haven't seen?

I look at this site: http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/, and I just don't see a disproportionate example of beaches vs. the rest of the state. TV advertising reaches different types of audience and not all forms of advertising are equal, nor should ad dollars be equally spent per different types of mediums.

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I for one would love to see a West Carolina and wouldn't mind having Asheville as our state capital. The benefits and challenges would likely do a great deal of good for our region. I am sick of this state in many ways, though I absolutely love this region.

That would not bother me in the least bit. The Carolinas as they stand now really have false borders based on what went on over 200 years ago or more. Geographically the Upstate and Western North Carolina have more in common that the other parts of the respective states. I think you can look at the Interstates as more realistic borders than the political borders. I-77 on the East, I-20 at the far south (I would say I-85 but they are quite a few place south of 85 that are well within the Upstate boundries. I-26 and U.S. 25 basically intersects the areas we are talking about. The state flag has no meaning for me personally but I can understand what it means historically. I still may talk like a southerner but they way a lot of people speak in the lower part of the state is almost to hard to understand at times.

A good part of the perception a lot of people have may have had to do with the long term senators such as Hollings and Thurmond. Another disconnection with me has always been SCETV. While I do like to watch a lot of the Sat. shows and evening programming, a lot of the local shows are basically out of Columbia and their road trips rarely come up this way. Sometimes when watching Statehouse Week or other state gov. program I feel like I am watching something from another country. It's a lot more comforting to watch the North Carolina Public TV offering.

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Do you think if we were to begin by marketing the region in this manner that eventually a chance could arise involving such a new union? Sure its doubtful, but definitely worthy of consideration. I made a cheezy map outlining a possible new state based on county boundaries:

WestCarolina_01b.gif

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Some comments:

1) Business travel/tourism is only affected by advertising if it is convention/meeting related. If someone is in town on business with BMW, they are coming to Greenville regardless of any TV spot, brochure, website, etc. It is a static market that no amount of promotion is going to affect. Being the largest county and home to many businesses, explains to a large extent why Gville has as much 'tourist' spending as it does.

2) Gville is limited in the convention business it can bring in until the Carolina First renovation is complete. Again, NO product is a the primary reason that we aren't in the big leagues.

3) Don't misunderstand my point. I believe Greenville SHOULD develop a healthy and substantial LEISURE tourism component to it's economy. MOST of the basic attractions are there, but the coordination, packaging, and management of a local/regional tourism effort is NOT in place. Until it is, don't expect PRT to spend big sums on promoting the region. It would be a waste of money.

We simply have to crawl before we can walk.

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Do you think if we were to begin by marketing the region in this manner that eventually a chance could arise involving such a new union? Sure its doubtful, but definitely worthy of consideration. I made a cheezy map outlining a possible new state based on county boundaries:

WestCarolina_01b.gif

I like it but I think N.E. GA and the Metrolina area should be included. Interestingly enough it looks a lot like Ceaser's Head which is about at the center of the area anyway.

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Some comments:

1) Business travel/tourism is only affected by advertising if it is convention/meeting related. If someone is in town on business with BMW, they are coming to Greenville regardless of any TV spot, brochure, website, etc. It is a static market that no amount of promotion is going to affect. Being the largest county and home to many businesses, explains to a large extent why Gville has as much 'tourist' spending as it does.

2) Gville is limited in the convention business it can bring in until the Carolina First renovation is complete. Again, NO product is a the primary reason that we aren't in the big leagues.

3) Don't misunderstand my point. I believe Greenville SHOULD develop a healthy and substantial LEISURE tourism component to it's economy. MOST of the basic attractions are there, but the coordination, packaging, and management of a local/regional tourism effort is NOT in place. Until it is, don't expect PRT to spend big sums on promoting the region. It would be a waste of money.

We simply have to crawl before we can walk.

So you think the state should limit its advertisement efforts to the promotion of one industry type alone? That is a terrible idea and one that should be balked by voters across the state. Even a small amount of creativity can produce tremendous results as indicated in the rapid growth have been witnessing within the past 10 years. So to promote our state as a place to do far more than lie around on the beach would be excellent, in my opinion. Why not highlight major annual events in the Upstate along with its powerful economy and beautiful countryside (lakes, mountains, waterfalls, etc...)? We've got a heck of a lot more to offer than a lazy day on the beach. Advertising places to live would be better use of that money, in my opinion. If people shouldn't be made aware of this area because we aren't set up to support week-long visitors, then look at the many ways we can and do regularly accomodate short-term visitors who then decide to move here because they have fallen head over heels in love with the place. The way I see it, if such campaigning stretches our local resources to the limits, then we'll grow to accomodate the demand (duh). I have yet to see any indication that the Upstate has been a dead end for any of its visitors. No dead end, just a worthy destination.

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I look at this site: http://www.discoversouthcarolina.com/, and I just don't see a disproportionate example of beaches vs. the rest of the state.

Looking at that site, here is what I see:

-The page header consists of pictures that slowly rotate. The rotation includes a couple walking along a pier (clearly coastal), a family outside along a marsh/waterway, a golf course (looks coastal because of the palmetto trees), a woman in a boat on water (also looks coastal), a couple shopping (could be anywhere, but the lady's hat looks beachy), a man on the beach with his daughter on his shoulders, and a picture of the beach. I watched the rotation for a few minutes, and these are the only images.

-Featured destination: North Myrtle Beach, SC

-Prominent link for the Atalaya Festival at Huntington Beach

-Link to a South Carolina golf site (and that link has a picture of a beach golf course at the top)

-Link to South Carolina Dining. Clicked on it, and saw a small clickable map on their front page. I clicked on "Greenville area" and the page had this above the search box: "White damask linen table cloths, gourmet dishes, fine wines

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And when it comes to dining, if Greenville is left out of the marketing strategy, you are neglecting a powerful source of attraction because we have one of the most dynamic dining atmospheres of any southeastern U.S. city.

These bozos know how to waste our money on other parts of the state while never giving credit to the most economically vital region and the most beautifully revitalized urban area in the state.

I'm sick of it. <_<

I say we take a stand and start voicing our opinions to these people. Let them see what they are missing by focusing all attention on their beloved little strips of sand.

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1. Why is it the responsibility of the state government to promote private tourist destinations, including restaurants on Main Street?

2. Here is what I'm seeing on the website: a mom and daughter on a mountain top. A couple shopping, wonder if it's in one of downtown Greenville's stores?

I'm told that South Carolina is not just , "It

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