Saturday, Aug. 29, 2009

Myrtle Beach tourism holds line in tough times

The national tourism and travel industry may lose nearly a half-million jobs this year - more than twice as many as last year, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The department originally expected to lose 247,000 tourism jobs in 2009, but a less-than-favorable first quarter is leading officials to estimate that about 581,000 could be lost by year's end, according to the report.

Area business leaders are hoping this national trend will pass over the Myrtle Beach area. Unemployment in nearly all sectors along the Grand Strand has taken a hit, with jobless rates for Horry and Georgetown counties reaching levels this summer that were twice what they were a year ago.

"Tourism as an industry nationwide has certainly been hit hard. ... Nevertheless, I think the level of employment locally has fared well compared to some of our competitor destinations," said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

In March, 29,100 people in Horry County worked in the leisure and hospitality industry, a 11.55 percent decrease from 2008, and in July, there were 39,100, a 6.24 percent decrease, according to data from the S.C. Employment Security Commission.

Many of the atypical job losses in the area may have already taken place earlier in the year, Dean said.

"Based upon economic concerns and fearing a big downturn in revenue, many businesses scaled back their non-essential hiring, and for the first part, there were far more job seekers than jobs available [in the spring]," he said.

Bob Barenberg, managing director for Hilton Hotels Corp. along the Grand Strand, agreed that the area could have felt the brunt of the tourism job losses.

"We're already downsized pretty significantly," he said. "I don't see that going down much further."

Barenberg said he's a little more optimistic than he was a month ago due to slight increases in group sales at the hotels.

This news won't radically change any of the strategies at Myrtle Beach International Airport, said Lauren Morris, marketing director for the Horry County Department of Airports.

"We are pretty well-positioned," she said. "We have a solid, low-cost carrier presence, and their load factors have been high, so overall, we feel positive and hope to continue the momentum into our shoulder season."

Earlier this month, Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University, predicted that the number of people getting off planes in Myrtle Beach between September and November would decrease by 1.3 percent this year when compared with 2008.

There are a few factors that can protect Myrtle Beach from issues that other tourism hubs may encounter, Barenberg said.

"Myrtle Beach becomes a more attractive market when finances are an issue, when the economy is bad," he said. "People are making economical choices, and we're an economic destination. We're a good alternative when cost is an issue, and the other thing is that you can drive here. We're perfectly located for that to happen."

But while local officials don't anticipate any large-scale job-loss surprises in the off-season, don't expect any major improvements, either, Dean said.

"I don't hear any businesses right now that are expecting to massively increase their hiring," he said. "Many are taking a 'wait and see' approach."