Editor’s note: This is the second half of a statement submitted by the Carolina Foothills Chamber of Commerce to the Polk County Board of Commissioners. The first half appeared in the Wednesday, March 9 Bulletin.
Support for a new hotel
You should know that the chamber board is on record as being in favor of bringing a modern middle-market hotel—such as a Hampton Inn or Holiday Inn Express—to the area, to be located off I-26 at either the Columbus or Landrum exit. The reason for this is simple: many Polk County visitors would rather stay in a hotel than a bed and breakfast.
The Days Inn in Columbus (a chamber member) fills up quickly during the many local events. That is why two Flat Rock hotels, the Holiday Inn Express and Mountain Inn & Suites, joined our chamber: they receive a lot of business from people who visit Polk County.
Those visitors would prefer to stay here in Polk County but end up staying in Flat Rock because that’s the nearest place where they can find the accommodations they seek. If they wanted to stay in a B&B, they would; but instead they drive 20 minutes up the interstate to stay in a hotel.
Obviously, these folks shop and eat in Henderson County, not Polk County. It is no exaggeration to say that we are losing millions in potential business each year because of this phenomenon. A new hotel would allow those visitors—and the dollars they spend—to stay here, where they would prefer to stay and where we need them.
We do not believe that a new hotel would necessarily pose a threat to B&Bs—quite the opposite. A hotel would allow Polk County to become more of a destination, which could attract more visitors—many of whom would choose to stay in a B&B.
Saluda Grade Trail
We also support the Saluda Grade Trail initiative, which has the potential to bring many enthusiastic visitors to our community on an ongoing basis; we believe that many of these visitors would want to stay in an inn or B&B.
Equestrian events
One criticism that has been leveled against the chamber involves our support for the equestrian community. Many people do not realize that equestrian events benefit our entire local economy—and have the potential to benefit it in a much bigger way. Consider the following:
This year there will be 51 horse shows in Polk County, as well as numerous clinics, lectures and other events. These events bring a steady stream of visitors—thousands of them—who spend money here. Each horse brings an average of three visitors, each of whom has been shown to spend an average of $187 per day during their visit. (Again, we are missing out on a large proportion of these visitors’ dollars because of the absence of modern hotel.)
Because of the nature of these events, they provide a consistent influx of millions of dollars into the local economy while having no negative impact on residents’ daily lives. Why would we not want to promote such a powerful economic driver?
The uniqueness of Saluda
We recognize that Saluda is a special place, largely detached from the rest of Polk County both geographically and as a unique tourist destination. While its tourist businesses benefit from the BBQ festival and would stand to benefit greatly from the Saluda Grade Trail, Saluda requires an approach that is specialized for them. We would expect to work closely with tourism-related businesses to develop such an approach.
A vision for the future
We hope that you begin to see the broad shape of our vision for the Carolina Foothills. Like most Polk County residents, we want to preserve those qualities we all love, but we recognize the need for an expanding economy that allows us to make a living without opening the floodgates for urban sprawl. A thriving tourism industry would allow us to protect the rural character of our community while sharing it with those who visit, spend, and return home.
Does the chamber of commerce believe we could handle the task of travel and tourism? You bet we do. Our board members have a high level of expertise in virtually every aspect of business and we could bring a fresh approach to travel and tourism.
We are a positive organization; we seek a better future for our area. These issues are not easy, but they must be addressed if we are to move forward. And move forward we must. Going backward—or even remaining in place—is not an option.
We did not seek out this task, but we are up to it should it come to pass. And we would strive to handle it in a way that would serve the long term overall best interest of Polk County, its businesses, and its people.
Once we have agreed upon a general outline of our plan for managing travel and tourism, we will communicate that outline in a separate document.