Hospitality industry braces as coronavirus casts shadow on Beaufort Co. events, travel
In northern Beaufort County, hotels and vacation rentals rely on the cars arriving for a few days each week carrying families from throughout the eastern United States.
Messages scrawled on the windows let other motorists know they are on the way to pick up their new Marine from Parris Island.
With the news that graduation ceremonies will be canceled indefinitely at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and other would-be visitors already wary amid coronavirus concerns, the local hospitality industry is bracing.
“We have not seen a tremendous dip in demand, but we are getting cancellations throughout the market — from campsites to traditional overnight accommodations — we’re all kind of seeing it right now,” said Robb Wells, president and CEO of the Greater Beaufort-Port Royal Visitors and Convention Bureau. “While we anticipate the number of cancellations to increase over the next couple of weeks, our goal is to continue to monitor the situation and keep visitors who are still traveling to the area abreast of activities that are open.”
Local hotels and short-term rentals generate between $2 million and $3 million in revenue during the months Parris Island holds graduations, Wells said. He speculated graduations could be worth an extra $350,000 in revenue each week to the local overnight industry.
Much of the graduation crowd stayed around town this week, and the base doesn’t have one scheduled during the next two weeks, he noted. But when they resume, it will likely be without the typical influx of families looking to see children and siblings for the first time since shipping off for boot camp.
American Cruise Lines has canceled both its March trips to downtown Beaufort, where it docks at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park and lets off 50 to 80 passengers to shop and dine. The majority of tour bus trips have been canceled for the rest of the month, Wells said.
On Hilton Head Island, officials with the RBC Heritage Present by Boeing waited to hear the fate of the golf tournament after the PGA Tour canceled all events up to its April event on Hilton Head. Tournament director Steve Wilmot was still hopeful Friday but said the staff had been crunching numbers on what a cancellation would mean.
“At the end of the day, it could be jobs impacted, our charities impacted and our economy — not just Hilton Head and Beaufort County, but the state of South Carolina,” said Heritage tournament director Steve Wilmot. “Travel, accommodations, catering, food and beverage, golf and restaurants — we’re a small piece of everything that happens around here.”
