charlestonbusiness.com -- Statewide hotel occupancy and average daily room rates were both up
in March, which led to a nearly 10% increase in revenue per available
room — known as revpar — according to the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Revpar
in the Greenville and Grand Strand areas increased more than 15% in
March, the most recent data released by the department, while North
Charleston, Rock Hill and the Walterboro-Hardeeville areas were up 10%.
In March, hotel revpar statewide was $63.16; year to date, the average was $48.93, the department said. Smith Travel Research
forecasts statewide occupancy growth for much of the summer. Occupancy
rates are predicted to hit 73.9% in June and 75.4% in July, a 2.7% and
1.4% increase, respectively, from the same months in 2014. In August,
the company predicts the rate will be 69.5%, which is the same as August
2014, according to the department. Admissions tax collections
in March totaled $2.55 million, down nearly 9% when compared with March
2014. Tax collections from golf totaled more than $1 million, but that
was down 19.7% from the previous year, department data show.
Poor
weather conditions also contributed to a 12.4% decrease in state parks
revenue in March, to $1.67 million, according to the department. Charleston International Airport and Columbia Metropolitan Airport saw increases of 8.7% and 4%, respectively, in deplanements in March compared with 2014. GSP International Airport’s deplanements went down 1%, while Hilton Head Island Airport lost 14.5% and Myrtle Beach International Airport saw a decrease of 0.7%, the department said.
