Last month’s solar eclipse was the biggest single tourist event ever for South Carolina.
According to a report published by the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, about 1.6 million people traveled to or within the State specifically to watch totality, spending about $269 million.
"Not only does this research confirm what our indicators hinted at weeks ago, it puts the picture into sharper focus, adding more definition to the eclipse’s total impact," state tourism director Duane Parrish said.
Out of state visitors were mostly from North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, while the cities of Charleston, Columbia and Greenville were the most popular places to witness the eclipse.
It said another 3.8 million South Carolina residents watched it from their own neighborhoods.
Nearly half of out of state visitors went to a park, a mountain site or the coast to watch the mid-afternoon happening with 23% participating in organized solar eclipse themed events.
Hotels were at near to or full occupancy across SC, with Visit Greenville reporting a ‘record setting’ 96% occupancy.
The state was extensively marketed as one of the best places in the US on the ‘path of totality.’
