Industry Research

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The Myrtle Beach area visitor industry is the largest industry in the Grand Strand, and therefore critical to the region's economy supporting businesses, jobs and quality of life for residents and visitors alike.

This research presented here is intended to help you plan, manage and grow your business. We will update this information periodically so please check back again.

Email requests or questions regarding any of the research below to research@visitmyrtlebeach.com.

fast facts

Visitors

How many annual visitors?

18.2 million (2024 estimate per D.K. Shifflet)

How many passengers through Myrtle Beach International Airport?

Total Passengers: 3,837,052 (2024)
- Enplanements: 1,917,468 (2024)
- Deplanements: 1,919,584 (2024)

Golf

How many golf courses?

Approximately 80+ (2024)

How many rounds of golf played annually?

Approximately 2.8 million (2024)
- 2,794,066

How many miniature golf courses?

Over 30 (2024)

Dining & Attractions

How many full-service restaurants?

Approximately 2,000+ full-service restaurants
(in Horry & Georgetown counties)

How many live entertainment theaters?

7 with approximately 7,500 seats

How many outlet stores?

Over 300

Accommodations

How many hotels?

Approximately 425 with 157,000 Room Units
- The Grand Strand has more than 157,000 accommodation unites spread out across 425 hotels, condos, villas, and home rentals. That’s on par with the room units in Las Vegas!
  - As of 2024, STR tracks 272 hotels representing 32,479 rooms which does not include the many vacation rentals, throughout the Grand Strand, such as condos and home rentals.
  - As of July 2024, KeyData shows the following vacation rental data for the region:
    - 2024 Nights Available: 2,267,835, monthly nights range from 160,774 nights in February on the low-end to 206,606 nights for the high in July.
    - AirBNB OTA Listings: 19,023
    - VRBO OTA Listings: 12,795
    - Combined Listings: 31,818 up 17% year-over-year. However, note that some listings may appear on multiple OTA sites.
Average Occupancy Rate
- 54.5% for Hotels (2024 per STR)
  - STR tracks lodging metrics for more traditional and flagship hotels and does not track lodging information for rental properties.
- 41.3% for Vacation Rentals (2024 per KeyData)
  - KeyData tracks lodging metrics for rental properties using AriBnB listings, VRBO listings, and data from participating rental companies.

How many rooms for rent during peak season?

Approximately 157,000 accommodations (Source: E.F. Hucks Consulting, LLC) (approx. 89,000 represent hotel/motel only)
- As of 2024, STR tracks 272 hotels representing 32,479 rooms which does not include vacation rentals, such as condos and home rentals.
- As of July 2024, KeyData shows the following vacation rental data for the region:

2024 Nights Available: 2,267,835, monthly nights range from 160,774 nights in February for the low to 206,606 nights for the high in July.
- AirBNB OTA Listings: 19,023
- VRBO OTA Listings: 12,795
- Combined Listings: 31,818 up 17% year-over-year. However, note that some listings may appear on multiple OTA sites.

ECONOMIC IMPACT & INFRASTRUCTURE

What is the local economic impact of tourism?

The estimated total economic impact of tourism in the Myrtle Beach area is more than $26 billion.
- Direct Visitor Spending: There was $13.2 billion in direct visitor spending in 2024, up 5.3% percent increase from 2023. (source: DK Shifflet Visitor Volume and Spending Study).
- When accounting for indirect and induced effects (such as business supply chains and employee household spending), the total economic impact is conservatively estimated at more than $26 billion.

What is the tax impact to Horry County?

Hospitality Fee: $59.3 million (2024)
Accommodation Taxes: $31.2 million (2024), 11% above 2019 event after adjusting for inflation.
Tourism Development Fee (City of Myrtle Beach only): $44.8 million (2024), 13% above 2019 even after adjusting for inflation.

What is the latest infrastructure development update?

Ride III will be a continuation of Ride I & II; funding is slated to be close to $592 million, and will address projects including:
- U.S. Hwy. 501 Corridor improvements
- Pave/resurface miles of County dirt roads
- Carolina Forest Boulevard Widening
- Palmetto Pointe Blvd. Ext. to SC Hwy. 544
- SC Hwy. 9 East Widening (Loris)
- Resurface city roads
- US Hwy. 701 N Widening
- Fred Nash Blvd. connection to Harrelson Blvd. – Myrtle Beach
- US Hwy. 17 Business Intersection Improvements - Garden City
- Forestbrook Road Widening
- Conway Perimeter Road Phase II
- Southern Evacuation Lifeline (SELL)
- SC Hwy. 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) Extension To SC/NC State line

economic impact of tourism

Local

Tourism continues to foster significant economic benefit for the Myrtle Beach area and Horry County. According to the most recent visitor spending data available:

The estimated total economic impact of tourism in the Myrtle Beach area is more than $26 billion.
- Direct Visitor Spending: There was $13.2 billion in direct visitor spending in 2024, up 5.3% percent increase from 2023. (source: DK Shifflet Visitor Volume and Spending Study).
- When accounting for indirect and induced effects (such as business supply chains and employee household spending), the total economic impact is conservatively estimated at more than $26 billion.
- Based on the latest 2024 JobsEQ data for the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach MSA, tourism supports an estimated ~82,000 jobs, spread across core and related industries:
  - Accommodation & Food Services: 31,135 jobs
  - Retail Trade: 26,969 jobs
  - Arts, Entertainment & Recreation: 5,845 jobs
  - Real Estate & Rentals (incl. STRs): 5,176 jobs
  - Transportation & Warehousing: 4,170 jobs
  - Administrative & Support Services: 9,037 jobs
  These industries represent the majority of tourism’s direct, indirect, and induced workforce.
- Horry County Hospitality Fee generated approximately $59.3 million in tax collections in 2024. (source: Horry County Government).
- Horry County generated $31.2 million in accommodations taxes in 2024, approximately 30% of the state’s total accommodations tax collections (source: S.C. Department of Revenue).
Visit Myrtle Beach’s marketing programs continue to deliver one of the industry’s strongest returns on investment. According to the Longwoods International ROI Study, for every $1 invested in advertising, the campaign generated $143 in direct visitor spending and $20 in state and local taxes. In total, Visit Myrtle Beach’s annual marketing efforts influenced 3.8 million incremental trips and $1.1 billion in incremental visitor spending in 2023 (Longwoods International ROI Study).

For more information regarding the economic impact of tourism on the Grand Strand, click here.

Additional information from Coastal Carolina University is available here.

State

South Carolina is blessed with an abundance of natural and man-made gifts – historic cities that attract visitors from all over the world, pristine beaches that stretch for hundreds of miles, small towns that offer a unique glimpse into days gone by, blackwater rivers for a peaceful day of kayaking or canoeing, and spectacular golf courses that wow the avid amateur and challenge the best touring pros. Those gifts and more helped fuel a seasonal business called tourism and turned it into a powerhouse that now ranks as the state’s number one industry. Learn more about South Carolina Parks Recreation and Tourism agency in the following video and reports below.

According to US Travel, South Carolina’s economic impact of travel was $18.7 Billion in 2023, generates $1.5 Billion in state and local tax receipts, and supports 133,500 jobs.

National

Travel is essential to driving economic growth and job creation in the states, destinations and communities across America. and it is indispensable to our nations global competitiveness. Travel accounted for $1.3 TRILLION in direct spending in 2024 - which produced an economic footprint of $2.9 TRILLION. In 2024, travel supported 15 million American workers and directly employed 8 million. The economic and job growth was largely due to the robust return of domestic leisure travel, which far outpaced the recovery of business travel and international travel segments.

For more information on the US Travel and it’s 2024 Economic Impact, click here.