rss
mobile
Feeds
The Heritage golf tournament, even in the toughest of economies, continues to bring a powerful punch to the state and local economy -- $81.9 million in 2010, only down slightly from 2005's $84 million impact.
About $72 million of that is spending by visitors and the Heritage Classic Foundation, the nonprofit organization that stages the annual event.
Significantly, the tournament brings in $4.09 million in local government tax revenue and $8.56 million in state tax revenue, according to the study.
The economic activity generated by the tournament supports about $35 million in wages and 1,115 jobs.
The study, with data gathered by the University of South Carolina Beaufort's Hospitality Management Department and analyzed by Clemson University's International Institute for Tourism Research & Development, provides critical ammunition in the search for a new title sponsor and in making the case for state and local officials' help in this endeavor.
This year's tournament was the last for Verizon as title sponsor. The title sponsorship is valued at about $8 million a year.
The study sheds light, too, on what might happen if we lose the tournament. Seventy-one percent of respondents who live outside Beaufort County said the Heritage was the primary reason for their trip to Hilton Head, and 62 percent said they weren't sure they would return -- or were unlikely to return -- if the tournament left the island.
Certainly, the demographics of those attending the tournament are attractive: 55 percent make more than $100,000. The average visitor spends $345 a day and 85 percent have attended the tournament multiple times.
An indication of the recent recession's impact can be seen in the daily spending number. In 2005, tournament visitors spent $435 a day, according to that year's survey.
But that repeat business speaks well of the tournament and Hilton Head. As Bob Brookover, director of Clemson's tourism institute, noted, the survey shows the Heritage is "a solid event with a really good, stable fan base."
No one need convince those of us here that the Heritage is an important component of our state and local economy. We just need to convince a company out there that it can be an important component of its economic future, too.
