Responsible Tourism Management

If you live in Charleston, this number comes as no surprise.

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. In addition, HCF also hosts an annual spring festival, The Charleston Festival, to showcase our history while working 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?

How does tourism impact Charleston?

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:

• 1978 Tourism Impact Study – The first of its kind for cities in the United States!
• 1994 Tourism Management Plan
• 1998 Tourism Management Plan Update
• 2015 Tourism Management Plan
• 2023 Community Perception of Tourism in Charleston (The Riley Center for Livable Communities)

Historic Charleston Foundation has a long history of helping to navigate challenges and opportunities as this industry expands. We work on a daily basis to keep 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:

• Accommodations planning
• Parking strategies
• Transit options
• Visitor communication strategies
• Festival, event, and tour impacts
• Zoning and regulations

And to ensure that tourists are here to appreciate and respect our culture and history through:

• Education (like public forums)
• Coalition building
• Advocacy for community concerns and smart regulations

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.

UPDATE: 

On May 20, 2025, HCF hosted a Future of Responsible Tourism Forum at The Charleston Museum with partners from the City of Charleston, Bloomberg Associates and Explore Charleston. The forum was recorded, and the full video is now available.

What did we learn? 

1. The City is focusing tourism efforts on prioritizing the needs of the residents, expanding visitor experiences beyond downtown, and encouraging visitors to act respectfully.
2. Bloomberg Associates is launching an effort in partnership with the City of Charleston to share the expertise and strategies to better manage tourism. They are pulling from their experiences from around the world as they make their recommendations, including case-studies from Amsterdam, Belgium, and Austria.
3. Bloomberg Associates will be meeting with Charleston stakeholders and residents over the coming months. In the meantime, HCF continues to meet with a steering committee of stakeholders to support this initiative.
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What's next?

The Bloomberg team will work through the summer and fall to develop recommendations for the City and present them to the public in early 2026. Stay connected with us to learn more.