Report: Fall for Greenville, euphoria and Artisphere lead to billions in spending by visitors

Major downtown events such as Fall for Greenville, euphoria Greenville, and Artisphere have led visitors to spend more than $1.5 billion during their stay last year, according to a tourism and marketing report.

The Visit Greenville SC report also indicated overall tourism generated more than $34 million in tax revenue. This increase in tourism dollars across Greenville County assisted in the economic recovery from the pandemic and created the opportunity for more festivals to come in the future.

"People came to look at the work of these incredible artists," said Heath Dillard, president of Visit Greenville SC. "But they filled their time in the market with lots of other things and spent money with our local businesses that support the employment of people and wages in this market who work in hospitality. That's the measure of economic impact."

Artisphere (art festival) is one of the five core events marketed by Visit Greenville SC, the nonprofit organization responsible for destination marketing for the City of Greenville. The organization also handles marketing efforts for the BMW Charity Pro-AM, Gallabrae Scottish Games, and the most recent, Greenville Jazz Festival. The group's website sees 6,000 to 7,000 visitors a day.

"What we also find is that while they're (visitors are) here for Artisphere, they're here for everything else. That's what we're trying to do," Dillard said. "Drive demand into locally owned businesses."

Hotel revenue in Greenville County up to $295 million

According to Visit Greenville SC, the county saw a record 7 million visitors to the area in 2022. Most of the visitors came to town to attend the festivals, sporting events, and the budding culinary scene. The report said 1 million of those visitors arrived through Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.

As Greenville's events create a critical mass of people, marketing and tourism said it also increases spending. Hotel rates also increased along the way.

Last year, hotel revenue across the county was up to $295 million, which is 32 percent higher, year-over-year, and the average daily rate of those hotels was $111, which is up 16% year-over-year, according to Taryn Scher of TK Public Relations.

On a normal day, there are 11,000 hotel rooms available on a nightly basis within the city, with just 2,300 of those rooms available downtown.

"One of the reasons we value events is ... It gives (visitors) a reason to come and experience what is being sold here as a destination," Dillard said. "The goal is to make such an impression that visitors eventually spread the word about Greenville until it eventually becomes a destination site, passed on through word of mouth."

Dillard also estimates around 48,000 people who work within the hospitality and leisure industry in Greenville are affected by these events. "We think these events give us those tip-of-pole moments to point to that and say this is the type of experience you can have in Greenville," he said.

Based on the Greenville County hospitality tax – which charges a 2% fee on all prepared meals and beverages –spending in local restaurants decreased by $162 million from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic.

How Greenville tourism recovered from COVID pandemic

Travel, tourism and outdoor activities in 2020 had taken a 15-to-19% decline in South Carolina, according to U.S. Census data, mostly due to restrictions of the pandemic.

Within a year, the Upstate started seeing an uptick in visitors again due to South Carolina opening and easing restrictions on COVID at the right time, and also most visitors traveled from around four to five hours outside of Greenville, Dillard said.

"COVID was obviously a massive disruptor, but Greenville recovered quicker than other destinations," Dillard said.

Greenville saw staycations happen first, then regional vacations returned, which took about a full year to recover after the pandemic. The Upstate was positioned to recover during the summer of 2021, however, large markets didn't recover until late 2022, including cities like San Francisco and New York where half of its yearly visitors are international travelers.

Since Greenville is not domestic or international flight dependent, but more focused on "drive markets" such as Asheville. North Carolina, Atlanta and Eastern Tennessee, Dillard said it made local travel and tourism easier to restart.

Expanding and marketing events in Greenville

In early June, the Greenville Jazz Fest showcased its inaugural festival, bringing in regional visitors from North Carolina, people from across the Upstate and even people from as far as Colorado.

Although no official capacity was recorded, the event filled the streets of downtown Greenville and introduced visitors to the growing culture of Greenville.

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The evolution of Greenville means to distribute visitors across the county, to experience the outdoors, nature, and scenic views, plus the physical amenities with the downtown airport districts, youth and amateur sports events, and conferences and conventions.

Continued investment in sales and marketing has already shown success as Greenville landed on the 50 Places to Visit list in 2023 by the New York Times. And marketing for large-capacity events in Greenville is supported by paid media campaigns and leveraging events to host national journalists.

While most of the large events are free and do not track event population, VisitGreenville SC uses a credit card tracking technology to understand how visitors spend time while in town and can verify where someone has traveled from and participated in, no matter if its to the state parks, Travelers Rest, or Bon Secours Wellness Arena.

In 2022, Greenville received a record high of more than $510,000 in cultural arts grants

In 2022, the Metropolitan Arts Council had its most successful year since its inception in 1973, according to the annual report, recording a record high of more than $$678,950 in grants for cultural arts initiatives, and even recording a record high in sales of nearly $510,000 for Greenville Open Studios last November.

Here is economic impact of Greenville's high-capacity events:

Euphoria 2022 economic impact

• Visitors spent $1.1 million, and local patrons spent almost $670,000 at last year's festival.

• Euphoria was responsible for $4.8 million worth of economic impact on Greenville County.

• Labor income was enhanced by almost $1.6 million year-to-year, according to the marketing and tourism report.

Artisphere 2022 economic impact

• Artisphere contributed $11.9 million in economic impact to the city of Greenville, according to City Councilmember Dorothy Dowe. The average artist's sales were $14,376.

• Local artists make up $1.6 million of the $13 million that Artisphere has brought in total profit since 2005, and has contributed at least $700,000 to local nonprofit organizations, artists and paid stipends, that conduct workshops, performances, awards and sales.

NCAA Tournament economic impact in Greenville

• 2022 NCAA Men’s Tournament accumulated $5.6 million in direct spending and contributed $9 million in total economic impact to Greenville.

• 2023 SEC Women’s Tournament saw $3.4 million in direct spending and $5.4 million in total economic impact to Greenville.

• 2023 NCAA Women’s Tournament took in $4.2 million in direct spending and $6.6 million in total economic to Greenville.

– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and more for The Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on Twitter @ajhappened.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Greenville downtown events generated a billion dollar economic impact