© 2024 South Carolina Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

South Carolina Tourism Celebrates 4th Consecutive Record Year

Duane Parrish
Mike Switzer/SC Public Radio

In case you hadn’t heard, tourism in South Carolina is now a $20 billion industry that supports one in every 10 jobs and generates $1.5 billion in state and local tax revenues.  These numbers represent a 6% increase in tourism activity in 2015 over 2014, and demonstrate a fourth consecutive record year of growth in South Carolina.

Mike Switzer interviews Duane Parrish, South Carolina’s director of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.

Stay Connected
After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.