COLUMBIA, S.C. — The last 'hoorah' for summer is here- Labor Day weekend is traditionally a busy travel time in SC with people out and about across the state.
Labor Day plans are getting finalized in the Midlands while the last days of summer stretch out.
“I think people are still going to come, they’re going to be a little bit more cautious," says Rich Harrill, Director of the University of South Carolina’s International Tourism Research Institute, "We want them to look ahead a little bit, plan the trip, pay attention to local and state guidelines for safety. Bring your mask, social distancing of course but you may want to also do a few things that you may find surprising.”
Prof Harrill says doing things a little different like hitting the beach later in the day after peak time can help make your trip safer, “if you go to the same restaurant, we still want you to go there but you might want to consider other spots. So, look online spread yourself out a little bit.”
Dawn Dawson-House with the South Carolina Dept of Parks, Recreation & Tourism says the state is down 35% from last year, that’s around $124 million in economic impact, “It’s only slightly different, we do expect a boost in traffic like we do every year but we do know the traffic to tourism in SC is down.”
She says a lot of people are going to parks and staying at Airbnbs and rentals with private space, “And even though we have those small differences and those kinds of things are doing well- tourism overall is still down. But we think we’re going to have a boost this weekend.”
So whether you’re hitting the beach or taking a hike, remember to continue to practice safety guidelines and stop the spread.