Welcome centers get boost

Facing a 30 percent budget cut, the state Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department in January made a tough decision to close its welcome centers two days a week.

Instead of brochures and road maps, closed doors greeted tourists stopping at any of the nine buildings on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. That ended this week, after the Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau agreed to commit $195,000 to open the centers every day.

In exchange, the CVB takes over management at the Santee welcome center in Orangeburg County.

More than 2 million people use the facilities annually, according to PRT spokesman Marion Edmonds. He said each site promotes attractions across the state, but most visitors continue on to the Lowcountry from the Santee welcome center off U.S. Interstate 95.

"We're turning over responsibility on how decisions are made about promotions, so (the CVB) can more fully provide information for the Charleston area, from the Santee center down to Charleston," Edmonds said. "They're bringing dollars into the arrangement to open all nine welcome centers seven days a week. The state is gaining an extra 18 days of sales opportunities out of the arrangement."

Edmonds said the centers remain state Transportation Department-owned and PRT-staffed. But next year, according to CVB executive director Helen Hill, those employees will report to the CVB.

Hill said the $195,000 comes from hotel industry contributions designated for marketing. Those partners, she said, benefit most from the welcome center.

With the transition away from a state agency, the Santee welcome center could see new, more dynamic displays. Otherwise, Hill said, business should continue as usual, with the facility promoting both the Charleston region and Orangeburg County.

Referring to the staff, Hill said: "They're really doing a great job, and we want them to continue to do a great job seven days a week."

Orangeburg County Chamber of Commerce President David Coleman knew about the arrangement only through word of mouth and worried PRT jumped at the chance to bring in the CVB without taking "a regional approach" to consider other potential managers.

"We're disappointed that it's not going to be in the PRT system," Coleman said. "It was a real asset to local tourism and to accommodations and hospitality providers along the interstate. That asset will be missed."

Mary Shriner, executive director of Santee Cooper Counties Promotion Commission, said she, too, was surprised to hear the news. Shriner's organization operates a separate Santee welcome center on S.C. Highway 6.

"Everybody was kind of blindsided," Shriner said. "Why were these negotiations going on with Charleston and it was not let out to the general public?"

But, she added, the arrangement will likely help the entire state more than keeping the centers closed two days a week.

Dan Blumenstock, president of the Greater Charleston Hotel and Motel Association, said the deal means Charleston hoteliers can set up brochures with a more individual flavor, since they won't have to follow state guidelines.

"To be able to manage the flow of traffic coming in and out of there a little bit differently than has been done in the past and to sell our destination is priceless," he said. "Under PRT, they weren't really allowed to sell. They were more of an information destination."

Reach Allyson Bird at abird@postandcourier.com or 937-5594.