There’s an increase in tourism for June 23 to 29 from 2023 to 2024. Here’s what it means.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly identified data between hotels and short-term rentals (Updated: 11:57 a.m. on 7/9/2024)
How are this year’s tourism numbers compared to last year?
Tourism is the biggest industry in the Grand Strand, raking in billions of dollars and employing 80,000 people annually.
Data from the Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau shows that more people came to the area during the last week of June than last year, but still less than before the pandemic.
Despite more people coming to Myrtle Beach for the week before the Fourth of July, the short-term rental data shows a slight dip in numbers between 2023 and 2024, according to data complied by the CVB on short term rentals occupancy.
Overall, between June 23 and June 29, Myrtle Beach area hotels were over three-quarters full, or 77.70%. According to numbers compiled by the CVB, that’s a 7% increase from the same week last year but an 11% decrease from the same time in 2019.
The average cost of a hotel room during the last week in June was over $200.
Rising inflation across the United States jumped to 10% higher than its 2019 counterpart.
For the adjusted paid occupancy rate – the percentage of nights occupied by guests as opposed to owners, Myrtle Beach area rentals saw a small 3.65% dip between 2023 and 2024, according to numbers from KeyData on short-term rentals.
The overall profit for each available rental in the Grand Strand area also fell by 1% from 2023 to 2024 during the last week of June. The area rental’s average daily room revenue, or how much money they made per rental that week, was $294.35.
These numbers reflect a potential slight downturn in short-term rental profitability between the two years.
The data used to generate these first figures do not include short-term house rentals or Airbnbs and VRBOs. It only reflected hotel bookings and stays in Myrtle Beach.
Editor’s note: The timeline of tourism numbers was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. The comparison numbers were from 2019, which was before the pandemic. (Updated: 10:24 a.m. 7/9/2024)
The number of people who work in the tourism industry was incorrect in an earlier version of this story. It’s an estimated 80,000 people. (Updated: 11:51 a.m. 7/9/2024)
The title of the Chamber of Commerce was incorrect in an earlier published version of this article. It’s the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce (Updated: 2:51 p.m. 7/9/2024)
The adjusted paid occupancy rate definition needs a clarification. It’s the percentage of nights occupied by guests as opposed to owners. (Updated: 3:01 p.m. 7/9/2024)
This story was originally published July 9, 2024 at 6:30 AM.
