Industry Research

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The Myrtle Beach area visitor industry is the largest industry in the Grand Strand, and therefore critical to the region's economy supporting businesses, jobs and quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

This research presented here is intended to help you plan, manage and grow your business. We will update this information periodically so please check back again.

Email requests or questions regarding any of the research below to research@visitmyrtlebeach.com.

fast facts

Visitors

How many annual visitors?

17.6 million (2023 estimate per D.K. Shifflet)

How many passengers through Myrtle Beach International Airport?

Total Passengers: 3,277,564 (2023)
- Enplanements: 1,684,979 (2023)
- Deplanements: 1,592,585 (2023)

Golf

How many golf courses?

Approximately 80+ (2024)

How many rounds of golf played annually?

Approximately 2.8 million (2023)
- 2,759,796

How many miniature golf courses?

Over 30 (2024)

Dining & Attractions

How many full-service restaurants?

Approximately 2000+ full-service restaurants
(in Horry & Georgetown counties)

How many live entertainment theaters?

7 with approximately 7,500 seats

How many outlet stores?

Over 300

Accommodations

How many hotels?

Approximately 425 with 157,000 Room Units
- The Grand Strand has more than 157,000 accommodation unites spread out across 425 hotels, condos, villas, and home rentals. That’s on par with the room units in Las Vegas!
  - As of 2024, STR tracks 272 hotels representing 32,479 rooms which does not include the many vacation rentals, throughout the Grand Strand, such as condos and home rentals.
  - As of July 2024, KeyData shows the following vacation rental data for the region:
    - 2024 Nights Available: 2,267,835, monthly nights range from 160,774 nights in February on the low-end to 206,606 nights for the high in July.
    - AirBNB OTA Listings: 19,023
    - VRBO OTA Listings: 12,795
    - Combined Listings: 31,818 up 17% year-over-year. However, note that some listings may appear on multiple OTA sites.
Average Occupancy Rate
- 55% for Hotels (2023 per STR)
  - STR tracks lodging metrics for more traditional and flagship hotels and does not track lodging information for rental properties.
- 53% for Vacation Rentals (2023 per KeyData)
  - KeyData tracks lodging metrics for rental properties using AriBnB listings, VRBO listings, and data from participating rental companies.

How many rooms for rent during peak season?

Approximately 157,000 accommodations (Source: E.F. Hucks Consulting, LLC) (approx. 89,000 represent hotel/motel only)
- As of 2024, STR tracks 272 hotels representing 32,479 rooms which does not include vacation rentals, such as condos and home rentals.
- As of July 2024, KeyData shows the following vacation rental data for the region:

2024 Nights Available: 2,267,835, monthly nights range from 160,774 nights in February for the low to 206,606 nights for the high in July.
- AirBNB OTA Listings: 19,023
- VRBO OTA Listings: 12,795
- Combined Listings: 31,818 up 17% year-over-year. However, note that some listings may appear on multiple OTA sites.

ECONOMIC IMPACT & INFRASTRUCTURE

What is the local economic impact of tourism?

There was $12.5 billion in direct visitor spending in 2023, up 4.7% percent increase from 2022. (source: DK Shifflet Visitor Volume and Spending Study).

What is the tax impact to Horry County?

Accommodation Taxes: $32 million (2023)
Hospitality Fee: $58.5 million (2023)
Tourism Development Fee (City of Myrtle Beach only): $45.7 million (2023)

What is the latest infrastructure development update?

Ride III will be a continuation of Ride I & II; funding is slated to be close to $592 million, and will address projects including:
- U.S. Hwy. 501 Corridor improvements
- Pave/resurface miles of County dirt roads
- Carolina Forest Boulevard Widening
- Palmetto Pointe Blvd. Ext. to SC Hwy. 544
- SC Hwy. 9 East Widening (Loris)
- Resurface city roads
- US Hwy. 701 N Widening
- Fred Nash Blvd. connection to Harrelson Blvd. – Myrtle Beach
- US Hwy. 17 Business Intersection Improvements - Garden City
- Forestbrook Road Widening
- Conway Perimeter Road Phase II
- Southern Evacuation Lifeline (SELL)
- SC Hwy. 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) Extension To SC/NC State line

economic impact of tourism

Local

Tourism continues to foster significant economic benefit for the Myrtle Beach area and Horry County. According to the most recent visitor spending data available:

Tourism accounts for a $12.5 billion economic impact to the region in direct visitor spending. (D.K. Shifflet Visitor Volume & Spending Study, 2023)
- Coastal Carolina University estimates that 80,000 jobs are supported by tourism and that 80 percent of local tourism jobs are year-round, full-time.
- Horry County Hospitality Fee generated approximately $58.5 million in tax collections in 2023. (source: Horry County Government).
- Horry County generated $32 million in accommodations taxes in 2013, approximately 30% of the state’s total accommodations tax collections (source: S.C. Department of Revenue).
Visit Myrtle Beach marketing programs influenced 3.8 million incremental trips, $1.1 billion in incremental visitor spending, and $163 million in incremental state and local taxes in 2023. (Longwoods International)
According to recent industry research by DK Shifflet, 17.6 million visitors spent $12.5 billion in 2023, up 4.7% from 2022.

For more information regarding the economic impact of tourism on the Grand Strand, click here.

Additional information from Coastal Carolina University is available here.

State

South Carolina is blessed with an abundance of natural and man-made gifts – historic cities that attract visitors from all over the world, pristine beaches that stretch for hundreds of miles, small towns that offer a unique glimpse into days gone by, blackwater rivers for a peaceful day of kayaking or canoeing, and spectacular golf courses that wow the avid amateur and challenge the best touring pros. Those gifts and more helped fuel a seasonal business called tourism and turned it into a powerhouse that now ranks as the state’s number one industry. Learn more about South Carolina Parks Recreation and Tourism agency in the following video and reports below.

A recent study prepared for the South Carolina Parks Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT) agency by the United States Travel Association revealed that domestic travel accounted for a direct economic impact of more than $15.1 billion and directly supported 133,500 jobs in 2019. Key findings from that study include:

Domestic travel-supported employees in South Carolina earned close to $2.9 billion in payroll income during 2019. This represented a 6.1 percent increase from 2018.
In 2019, every $113,417 spent by domestic travelers in South Carolina supported one job.
Domestic traveler spending in South Carolina directly generated $2.2 billion in tax revenue for federal, state, and local governments in 2019, up 5.8 percent from 2018.
Horry County received $4.8 billion in domestic travel expenditures to lead all of South Carolina’s 46 counties.
Seventeen of South Carolina’s 46 counties received over $100 million in domestic travel expenditures in 2019.
Sixteen counties in South Carolina indicated one thousand or more jobs were directly supported by domestic travelers during 2019.

National

Travel is essential to driving economic growth and job creation in the states, destinations and communities across America. and it is indispensable to our nations global competitiveness. Travel accounted for $1.2 TRILLION in direct spending in 2022 - which produced an economic footprint of $2.6 TRILLION - a return to 2019 levels. In 2022, travel supported nearly 15 million American workers and directly employed 8 million. The economic and job growth was largely due to the robust return of domestic leisure travel, which far outpaced the recovery of business travel and international travel segments.

For more information on the US Travel and it’s 2022 Economic Impact, click here.