South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the rising gas prices actually might be a good thing for one of the largest industries in the state - tourism. Haley spoke to a crowd of the industry's leaders at the Governor's Conference on Tourism and Travel at the Embassy Suites in Greenville on Tuesday.
Nearly 500 industry leaders attended the state's largest annual tourism conference that discusses trends in marketing and promotion.
Haley said one of the goals of the group should be to target regional travelers who might want to spend less on gas and take vacations close to home. She said the number of vacation rentals are up this year, as well as hotel occupancy.
"The business industry will step up like they always do," Haley said. "They're going to find a way to get people here, and once they get here, to fall in love with the state."
Leaders also discussed the growth of downtown Greenville during the past 20 years, and had a walking tour of the popular attraction. But Haley said growing tourism is about selling the state as a whole.
"If someone come to Greenville, we want to get them to go to Charleston," Haley said. "If someone goes to Charleston, we want to get them to Lake Murray. We're going to start spreading it out, so we're not regional anymore. We're talking about one state. It's worked for commerce. We think it's going to work for tourism."
However, Haley said a recent push for allowing casinos in the state is not something on which she is focused. She said she considers relying on gambling a desperate measure, and not a priority as a way of attracting new industry and jobs.
Tourism generates nearly $15 billion a year in South Carolina. It also represents about 189,000 jobs - more than 10 percent of the state's total employment.
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