Tourism season begins. Friday was Hilton Head’s busiest traffic day since last June
A question has hung in the air on Hilton Head Island since the holidays: When will the 2021 tourism season start?
Last weekend, the island got its answer.
The weekend before St. Patrick’s Day began with the island’s busiest traffic day since June and ended with hours-long wait times at island restaurants — rousing hospitality workers who haven’t seen summer-level crowds since 2019.
Two days of 80-degree weather, plus the Hilton Head St. Patrick’s Day boat parade on Broad Creek, meant both visitors and locals were enjoying the sun and the island’s outdoor dining.
But as statewide leaders drop pandemic public health restrictions and more people get vaccinated, the unofficial start of the busy season marks the unofficial start of something else: An era of Hilton Head tourism affected by, but not defined or stopped, by the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed 534,000 people in the U.S.
Slow traffic
St. Patrick’s Day weekend was busy from start to finish.
On Friday, 65,101 cars passed over the Hilton Head bridges, according to traffic counters maintained by the S.C. Department of Transportation — the busiest traffic day on the island since June 20.
Saturday and Sunday followed suit: 59,212 cars passed over both eastbound and westbound bridges on Saturday. On Sunday, 48,177 vehicles traveled between Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.
The influx of cars on Friday suggests that many people were visiting for St. Patrick’s Day weekend. Hilton Head usually sees the most traffic on Saturdays, when most weeklong rentals begin.
Traffic was so congested on Saturday that drivers posted on Facebook about the journey between Sea Pines Circle and the Coligny area taking 45 minutes. The one-mile drive typically takes 10 minutes.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies were stationed at the Sea Pines Circle directing traffic Saturday afternoon.
Sheriff’s Maj. Bob Bromage said the area was packed all weekend, causing deputies to help direct the slow-moving flow of cars.
Packed beaches
Beautiful springtime weather and Sunday’s extra hour of sunlight in the evening led hundreds of people to the beachesast weekend.
Town beach parking lots alternated between full and fuller most of the weekend, pushing some drivers to park on grass medians and along streets.
On Friday morning, a dog bit a beachgoer at Islanders Beach Park, according to police reports. The victim went to Hilton Head Hospital for treatment of wounds to the face.
Bromage said sheriff’s deputies issued several warnings to people breaking rules on the beach by drinking alcohol. Beachgoers at Coligny Beach on the south end reported seeing uniformed officers patrolling the beach and giving written warnings.
No tickets were issued for drinking on the beach, Bromage said.
Shore Beach Service lifeguards were also in full swing over the weekend, hauling hundreds of pounds of trash from the beaches in pickup trucks.
Police reports showed Hilton Head had its share of other issues last weekend.
On Friday, a car was broken into at Reilley’s Plaza on the south end while the driver was at the bars at the Barmuda Triangle.
On Saturday, deputies heard a gunshot at the plaza. They investigated but found no evidence of suspicious activity, according to police reports.
Early Sunday morning a man was arrested on charges of driving under the influence. Police say he caused a crash in the plaza’s parking lot.
What to expect in 2021
Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce statistics show that bookings for the first half of 2021 are up 4% from this time last year before the pandemic hit.
Although the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing PGA Tour event will go forward as scheduled in April, it will allow only a limited number of fans to attend.
Still, tourism leaders are optimistic.
“For many years, Hilton Head has been known for its beauty, nature, golf and beach,” Outside Hilton Head owner Mike Overton told The Island Packet in February. “But people are also looking at it as a safe place. I think this year is going to be a good year.”
