In a recent report from the City, Charleston welcomed more than 7.8 million visitors last year—another annual record high, which we seem to beat consistently year after year.
Charleston residents regularly experience busy restaurants, sidewalks, and streets full of visitors—especially on the downtown peninsula.
Who can blame them? Charleston IS a great place to live and visit, and it has been for decades.
Part of what makes Charleston so appealing as a tourist destination includes its architecture, beaches, thriving food scene, and upscale shopping—but most importantly, this is a living, vibrant community in a city with a deep and fascinating history.
To be clear, Historic Charleston Foundation is part of Charleston's tourism industry. The Foundation benefits from visitors who frequent our world-class historic house museums, each in the top three most visited house museums on the peninsula year after year. In addition, HCF also hosts an annual spring festival, The Charleston Festival, to support its fundraising goals -- while we continue to work simultaneously to protect the integrity of Charleston’s built environment through our advocacy at the local planning level.
The question the Foundation is helping to answer is: How does our historic city balance our growing tourism industry and economic health with the livability of residents?
There is no shortage of resources to help guide our next steps in making decisions that benefit tourists and the community. We have been engaged over the past five decades in myriad plans and strategies to effectively manage tourism.
Examples include:
Historic Charleston Foundation has a long history of helping to navigate the challenges and opportunities as this industry expands. We work on a daily basis to keep the buildings, community, and history front and center. In doing so, we play an invaluable role in supporting visitor and resident wellbeing.
Implementing best practices from peer cities, we are working with the community and elected officials to address the following:
And to ensure that tourists are here to appreciate and respect our culture and history through:
By working with neighborhood associations and residents, the Foundation advocates for policies and strategies that address tourism’s challenges and opportunities through the lens of the residents.
To be a part of the future of responsible tourism in Charleston, join us at our upcoming forum on May 20th with the City of Charleston and Bloomberg Associates at The Charleston Museum. This forum will be recorded, and the full video will be made available on HCF's YouTube page following the event.
