Did Hilton Head’s tourism boom last through the holidays? What the number show us
If Hilton Head Island had an “endless summer” of tourism in the fall, this holiday season only continued that trend.
The number of people renting homes and villas on the island in December was up 73% over 2019, according to metrics from the Hilton Head Island - Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
Although hotel data isn’t available yet, the rental numbers suggest the boom of people rethinking their vacation plans due to the coronavirus pandemic and the ability to work from home benefited the island’s tourism industry.
Still, Beaufort County is experiencing mounting cases of the coronavirus and deaths from holiday travel.
People who visit the island and test positive are counted as cases based on their home address, which makes cases difficult to count in a vacation destination like Hilton Head.
The pandemic has turned the island’s tourism season on its head.
Following a six-week shut down of restaurants and bars in the spring, Hilton Head was packed for Memorial Day weekend.
The summer slowly built to the busiest time of the year, which lasted well into the fall.
“We saw fall numbers outpacing those of 2019 with families working and schooling remotely and choosing Hilton Head Island as their destination,” Charlie Clark, the chamber’s vice president of communications told The Island Packet.
November home and villa occupancy was up by 45%, but hotel occupancy was only up by 18.6%, Clark said.
Renting entire homes or condos on Hilton Head carried occupancy last year, as families and visitors opted for more space, private kitchens and longer vacations in home settings.
What’s next in 2021?
Reservations on the books for the next six months are down about 14%, according to Clark.
As the country faces more economic uncertainty and a vaccine roll out, families may be cautious about booking vacations. And travel restrictions in Canada, where a large number of Hilton Head’s winter visitors live, will affect the next several months of bookings on the island.
But Hilton Head’s outlook looks better than the Southeast region overall, which reports a 21% decrease in bookings for the next six months compared to normal figures.
The look at tourism numbers comes on the heels of a real estate “frenzy” on the island, according to area Realtors.
Hilton Head Area Realtors Association President Jean Beck said the hot market in 2020 was based on relocations from around the country, and that most home buyers on Hilton Head start out as vacationers.
This story was originally published January 16, 2021 at 1:13 PM.
