Tourism marketing group wants $760K from Beaufort County. Where’s the money going?
A local tourism marketing organization is asking Beaufort County for $760,000 to entice people to visit northern Beaufort County and help “quickly reignite” the county’s tourism industry after the shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic.
The Greater Beaufort-Port Royal Convention and Visitors Bureau, one of the county’s two designated marketing organizations, presented the request to Beaufort County Council Monday night.
The money would pay for advertising through companies like Tripadvisor and Facebook, Robb Wells, organization president and CEO, said Monday. The advertisements would encourage potential tourists from cities such as Charlotte and Atlanta to visit Beaufort, Port Royal and the nearby sea islands.
Although County Council members said they supported the idea of helping to jumpstart the area’s tourism industry — which has been mostly shut down for the past two months due to the coronavirus pandemic — most were hesitant Monday night about committing to the request. They wanted more information about the organization’s marketing plan; they debated over how the funds would be paid out when the accommodations tax reserve fund has only $722,093; and some worried about funding a plan that encourages tourism during a global pandemic.
Ultimately, the council postponed approving the money on first reading, scheduling a lengthier discussion for next Monday’s finance committee meeting. Wells said he will present the full marketing plan of how the money would be used and why it’s needed.
“We’ve never seen anything like this,” Wells said Tuesday. “Not everybody is ready for this right now. We recognize that 100%, and I’m sympathetic to all of that. But, come June 1, we have to move forward, and tourism will lead the charge back. The locals have been supporting their local businesses for two months now, but there needs to be new money spent.”
Wells said the organization will work with the county in a “transparent way,” providing council members with information on exactly how the money is being spent. He said the funding from the county will be used solely for marketing efforts, with none going toward payroll, operations or administrative costs.
How will the county pay this?
Beaufort County is considering using its accommodations tax reserve fund, which is for emergencies or other unforeseen needs.
The accommodations tax is 3% on the gross proceeds of hotel rooms, campgrounds and other tourist lodging costs.
Each year, $350,000 of the money generated from this tax is divided among three marketing organizations to promote tourism in the area. The Greater Beaufort-Port Royal Convention and Visitors Bureau gets $150,000; the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce gets $150,000; and the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce gets $50,000.
Each organization can request more money, based on its needs.
A portion of the proceeds from accommodations taxes — 20% — is set aside for emergencies. The county has only $722,093 in this fund, meaning it would have to dip into other ATAX and hospitality tax funds to fulfill the Greater Beaufort-Port Royal Convention and Visitors Bureau’s full $760,000 request.
Tourism during a pandemic
Monday night, several council members were hesitant both about the amount of money requested and the plan to target tourism during the ongoing pandemic.
“I think we’re going too fast, too quick,” Council member Mike Covert said. “We have other chambers, such as the Bluffton Chamber, and I haven’t heard of anything like this. If the entire cake is given away, we can then find ourselves in a really bad position with another chamber. We have to be fair and equitable.”
Council member York Glover said he was concerned about encouraging people to travel to the area and giving money to an industry where there may not be many consumers.
“I am not too sold right now really with where things are in the state, county and nation as far as opening up too soon,” he said. “There’s an old saying that you can make the best dog food, but if the dog’s not eating it, it ain’t going nowhere.”
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Wells said the county’s important tourism industry has taken a massive hit. The marketing plan he will present to the finance committee next week won’t focus on driving tourists to travel right away, but over the the next nine months to a year, he said.
The plan will be phased over the next year, targeting people who are looking to travel by car to small, coastal cities and towns, he said.
“My competitor is COVID and people’s perception of COVID,” he said. “It’s not for me to make the decision for them. It’s for me to present inspiration for when they are ready to travel. Some people will travel earlier, and some people will wait.”
Wells will present his full marketing plan for council’s consideration at Monday’s 2 p.m. virtual finance committee meeting.
This story was originally published May 12, 2020 at 3:21 PM.
