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© Historic Charleston Foundation
Posted: November 4, 2019
By Winslow Hastie
The purpose of the Sustainable Tourism forum hosted by Historic Charleston Foundation was to hear from three distinct voices—each of whom is an expert in different facets of the tourism industry—on best practices for what we’re calling “sustainable tourism.” We were excited and inspired to hear from these three rockstars in the broad field of tourism:
Nico Mulder, a Marketing Strategist at Amsterdam & Partners who specializes in city branding, marketing, and tourism management in The Netherlands. Nico is a member of several think tanks for culture and tourism—institutions that identify, analyze and drive the latest industry developments—and he lectures widely around the world on the interrelated issues of marketing, management, and tourism.
Melissa Biggs Bradley, CEO and Founder of Indagare, a boutique luxury travel agency, and a Board Member of the Center for Responsible Travel, whose mission is “to promote responsible tourism policies and practices so that local communities may thrive and steward their cultural resources and biodiversity.” A magazine journalist by training, Bradley was the launch editor of Town & Country Travel Magazine and the long-time Travel Editor of Town & Country. Since Indagare’s founding, Melissa has been recognized as a pioneering entrepreneur in the luxury travel space and Indagare has been named to Inc.’s Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S.
Michael Tall, Chairman of Explore Charleston and former President of Charlestowne Hotels, a hospitality management company with assets in Charleston and around the country. During Michael’s tenure, Charlestowne Hotels’ portfolio expanded from being in one state to being in 18, and they have received numerous industry accolades.
This excellent panel was moderated by our own Robert Behre, Editor and Reporter at The Post & Courier.
I think it’s important to acknowledge that Historic Charleston Foundation is in the tourism business. While we are well-known for our advocacy and programming, like the Forum, we also have two house museums, significant retail operations, and large fundraising events like our Festival of Houses & Gardens that all absolutely depend on visitors. Our intent is not to demonize the tourism industry. However, we do want to elevate the discussion around how, as a community, we can ensure that tourism remains sustainable, from both a livability and economic perspective. And we believe that we can and should pivot towards a stronger focus on tourism management.
Charleston is experiencing a major tourism boom that has been steadily increasing for several decades, and more recently, that increase has been exponential. However, it is important to note that Charleston has been on the tourism management vanguard since the passage of its first management plan in 1978, the first of its kind in the nation. That plan has been updated numerous times, most recently in 2015 under the leadership of Historic Charleston Foundation. It is interesting to see that the issues being discussed in the 1970s and again in the 1990s are the same ones being talked about now: horse carriages, traffic and congestion, parking, walking tours, large tour buses, bathrooms, spreading people out across the peninsula! Sound familiar?
And now, “overtourism” has become a household word because the topic is being highlighted in the media these days, with scary reports from Venice, Dubrovnik, Macchu Picchu, and Angkor Wat, just to name a few. This is a serious global phenomenon, which underscores the need for consistent dialogue around the issue. I do not believe that Charleston has reached its tipping point yet, but we have to remain vigilant. From my research, one of the best ways to confront this is to have a structured and open dialogue between city leaders and staff, the tourism marketing agency and the residents. The message in all the literature is that it is never too early to get ahead of overtourism: successful management requires anticipatory planning and a clear setting of goals. Again, the concerns of the local resident population are extremely important and cannot be dismissed. This is even more important in Charleston because visitors primarily come here to see the residential neighborhoods in the historic district, at the front doors of where people live—and the pressure is concentrated in a very small area downtown.
Lastly, we also must acknowledge that we cannot lay all of our community problems at the feet of the tourism industry. Often, tourism becomes the pariah that takes the blame for other negative elements such as overdevelopment, population growth, inadequate infrastructure, and traffic. There are many other forces at work in Charleston that are contributing to our problems that we need to confront together. However, in the meantime, we plan to dust off the 2015 Tourism Management Plan Update, focus on priorities that have yet to materialize, and have a robust discussion with Explore Charleston and the city on how we can best protect the goose that lays the golden egg.
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The 2015 Tourism Management Plan (TMP) Update includes 72 recommendations to improve tourism management in Charleston with a timeline calling for the majority of the recommendations to be implemented by…
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Tourism cannot be overly blamed. However, there is not a magazine that I subscribe to that doesn’t have 2-3 page ad to visit Charleston. Now who is responsible for that expenditure? Just stop advertising for a year and spend that money on helping infrastructure adjust to booming tourism.
Stop allowing investors to come in and buy properties only to rent via Airbnb. The city needs to protect residential areas from tourism population. Why visit Charleston when everyone who
Lives in the historic area is from New York?
We have tried and tried for years to work with the carriage companies, to no avail.
We run a high-end bed and breakfast and our house is on the street. The carriages stop in front of our house many times a day, and of course, the horses urinate. The smell is more than pungent in hot weather and leaving the B&B bedroom window open is not an option when it’s warm.
We have to keep our gates shut because people will just wander in off the street-I shooed a few out recently and they asked if they could just look around for a few minutes since they were already in the garden.
Isn’t it ironic that those of us who try to keep up our old houses and pretty gardens are punished for the effort? The cost of paint and labor has become astronomical.
I am sure that complaints like this are rife and much worse for some.
But these are not my chief complaints.
I would love to work with the College of Charleston and landlords to persuade college students and renters to take pride in their neighborhoods. The area around the College is a mess. Of course, a major contributor is the choice of the oak tree, which sheds and sheds and sheds, but trash is everywhere. Another contributor is the fact that there is often no place to ‘hide’ those huge bright blue recycling bins that are a bit of an eyesore. Is recycling even working?
The City certainly seems to be doing its part and I think residents, especially landlords and renters, in our historic districts should do more. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were some sort of city fee rebate for tidiness?
Hooray to you all for working so hard for the city we cherish.
Thank you for taking this on. I was disappointed I had another commitment the evening of your event. As a resident living on Elizabeth Street who works at my office in the Hatman building on the corner of Church and Broad, it is startling to move between the two locations. I have many times appreciated how quiet our sweet Elizabeth Street still is (albeit the occasional massive tour busses) while now finding myself almost anxious as I look for parking near my office, try to maneuver the sidewalks (usually with my arms full of samples for my clients) and simply go out for a quiet afternoon walk to clear my head on Church Street, where I first lived in an apartment over the “Porgy and Bess” shops when I moved to Charleston in 1979, “Oh, those were the days.” she says with a knowing smile. Preservation, it seems to me, means preserving the best parts of the culture as well as buildings. Like a friendly smile, a “Hey, how y’ll doin today?” or at least “Good morning” when we see each other on the street. Like holding doors for strangers and stepping aside when someone needs to pass. I have noticed a stark decrease in these Charleston niceties and miss them terribly. Let’s roll up our sleeves. Thanks for taking this on. I hope to join the conversation the next time you meet.
My wife and I live in St Simons Island, GA. We visit Charleston several times a year with friends. We love Charleston, it’s beauty and history. What attracts us to Charleston is it’s small-town charm, the friendly reception that we always receive, and it’s its strong development standards that ensure that development is in keeping with the character and scale of its surroundings. I am certain that maintaining the development standards is a daily battle. Unfortunately, it is also apparent that over-development and unfettered tourism is taking its toll on Charleston. Fortunately,
Charleston has a strong advocate in the Historic Charleston Foundation. Keep up the great work, and don’t yield to those more interested in the revenue generated by tourism rather than in protecting the character and charm of your beautiful City. Unfortunately, we too are experiencing the same over-development/tourism issues in St Simons Island. We are the “cash-cow” in the County, and are rapidly losing our charm.