Greenville Business Magazine 2009 August Issue : Page 23
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Marcley and the museum’s biggest contributor, Paul
Motyka of Acton, MA,.
“The Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum director Arlene Marcley and the museum’s biggest contributor, Paul Motyka of Acton, MA,. Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Shoeless Jackson Museum director Arlene
Marcley and the museum’s biggest contributor, Paul
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“The word is really getting out,” says Diane Wilson, director of information
services for the less Joe Jackson Museum director Arlene
Marcley and the museum’s biggest contributor, Paul
Motyka of Acton, MA,.
“The “The word is really getting out,” says Diane Wilson, director of information services for the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Downtown has become such a gem, it benefits not only the city but the whole region.” AUGUST 2009 | GREENVILLE MAGAZINE 23
>>industry trends - Downtown Greenville Tourism Efforts Continue
Richard Breen
Arlene Marcley admits she’s a bit surprised by the number of tourists who have flocked to the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum since its 2008 opening in Greenville’s West End.
“We have found that the museum is actually a destination spot for visitors,” says Marcley, the museum’s curator. “They are coming from just about every state in the union.”
More than 4,000 visitors from 38 states and four foreign countries, to be exact. And their overall assessment of downtown Greenville?
“It shocks them,” Marcley says. “I hear nothing but plaudits.”
Greenville, South Carolina, a tourist destination? What was once considered an ambitious goal is now a reality, as visitors come to see a downtown and West End that have been beefed up with attractions. While there is not a downtown-specific tourism strategy, Greenville’s central business district is seen as a hub for Upstate visitors.
“The word is really getting out,” says Diane Wilson, director of information services for the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Downtown has become such a gem, it benefits not only the city but the whole region.”
The Greenville CVB estimates Greenville County hosts 4.8 million visitors each year, bringing in $51 million in state and local taxes.
“The majority of our marketing is toward meetings and conventions,” Wilson says.
The next step is to get those who visit Greenville on business to extend their stay or return as leisure travelers. Both the CVB and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation & Tourism see the Upstate as a good option for weekend getaways.
“Once you’ve done everything there is to do in the greater Atlanta area and want to get away on a hot summer weekend, you can get up into the (Upstate) hills and drive around, but at night you can stay in a real nice property and have a great night out,” says Marion Edmonds, communications director with SCPRT.
Two projects, Reedy Square and the Blue Wall Center, plan to make a direct tourism connection between downtown Greenville and the Upstate’s natural attractions, such as Caesar’s Head and Table Rock.
Expected to open in 2012 at a downtown location near the Reedy River, Reedy Square is being planned as a high-tech visitor center. It will promote attractions throughout the region as well as have live demonstrations and entertainment of its own. There will be interactive exhibits, comprehensive schedules and calendars of events, and concierge-style assistance for those planning an outing.
“That’s going to be a transformational project,” says Greenville Mayor Knox White.
The Blue Wall Center is being planned for 175 acres along Scenic Highway 11 in northern Greenville County. It is expected to showcase the Upstate’s unique ecosystem and geological features while offering hiking, dining, entertainment and lodging.
The Upstate hotel scene has long been driven by business travelers, but that may be shifting in downtown Greenville. Bo Aughtry is the developer of the Hampton Inn & Suites at RiverPlace and plans to open a Courtyard by Marriott in early 2010 next to City Hall. He says leisure travelers comprise 60 percent of the Hampton’s guests and he expects a similar mix at the Marriott.
“This speaks highly to downtown Greenville’s tourist appeal,” he says. While he admits “it sounds trite,” he adds that downtown has something for virtually everyone, from Falls Park to the Peace Center to Fluor Field.
Dr. Rich Harrill, director of the International Tourism Research Institute at the University of South Carolina, says Greenville is ahead of many communities in making its downtown a tourist attraction.
“When the sun goes down, the sidewalk doesn’t roll up,” he says. Creating a 24-hour downtown by encouraging residential development, encouraging restaurants on Main Street and promoting arts and music events all play a role, he adds, particularly when it comes to attracting the much-desired demographic of upscale professionals.
Jennifer Morrow, owner of Healthy Lounge, says she sees a good number of tourists at her RiverPlace business, which offers massages, an oxygen bar and healthy snacks.
“It’s appealing a lot to the tourists who just think it’s cool Greenville has something like this,” she says.
White thinks the completion of a 12-mile bicycle trail through downtown to Furman University will usher another wave of tourists. Still, he recalls a time nearly 10 years ago when he was surprised to see a stereotypical camera-around-the-neck tourist taking a photo near the Joel Poinsett statue downtown.
“It was that unusual,” he says. “Now it’s fairly common.”
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