By: Jimmy Gray, Director of Government Affairs, Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce

In the school start date debate, many have tried to pit the tourism industry and the coast against teachers, parents and students. The fact is that South Carolina parents simply do not want to see the school start-date moved sooner into August. A statewide poll found that nearly 75 percent of parents support the current school start-date (third Monday in August) or would even like to see it moved back later into August or September like many other states.

The Gaffney Ledger’s August 21 article cites hotel occupancy research collected by the Olde English Consortium in 2013 to try to back up the claim that moving the school start date sooner won’t have an impact on state tourism revenue. Occupancy is certainly a metric that we measure, but it is always changing due to new inventory in our strong hotel sector.

Smith Travel Research defines RevPAR as the total room revenue divided by the total number of available rooms. Room Revenue/Rooms Available = RevPAR. Growth in RevPAR directly correlates to increased lodging revenues and associated tourism revenues. The graph below tracks August RevPAR from 2004 to 2018. Keep in mind that the state created a uniform school start date in 2008.

It’s hard to look at that graph and conclude that the August tourism boom has not happened. It would be disingenuous to say these outstanding August numbers are solely due to the uniform school start date legislation. June 2009 was the technical end of the Great Recession and coincided with the passage of the Tourism Development Fee. A stronger economy, a later school start date and stronger tourism promotion and marketing has led to outstanding August tourism performance.

Growth in occupancy doesn’t necessarily equate to growth in lodging revenues and associated tourism revenues, but that was the metric cited in the August 21 story. August occupancy was only tracked to the year 2013 in the August 21 article. We’re fortunate to have August occupancy numbers beyond 2013, and they paint a different picture.  

Strong August tourism numbers are great for our state. The tax revenue generated by tourism helps fund projects throughout South Carolina, not just on the coast. In August 2018 net taxable sales for Horry County surpassed $724 million. Charleston County had over $752 million in net taxable sales. Those taxable sales are paying for new infrastructure and education projects around the state – not just on the coast.  

Ensuring that South Carolina students are well prepared for the 21st century workforce is something that both sides can agree on. And nearly 3 out of 4 South Carolina parents agree with the current school start date or would like to see it moved later into August. It’s clear that August is not only a critical month for the tourism industry but for projects around the state. The 2008 school start date legislation has been critical for that August tourism, and should be continued to ensure strong returns for South Carolinians.