2023: A record-setting year for Charleston tourism

Charleston is renowned for its hospitality, rich history, great culinary scene, and beautiful beaches. We consider ourselves lucky to experience what the city has to offer daily and understand why so many are drawn to our city’s uniqueness.

A few weeks back, the CHStoday team had the chance to attend an event hosted by the folks at Explore Charleston , where we chatted about all things Holy City. There, we saw a presentation from the College of Charleston Office of Tourism Analysis detailing the impact and importance of tourism.

Keep reading for a peek at some of the data from the “Estimation of Tourism’s Economic Impacts in the Greater Charleston Area, 2023.”

New standards
Our region continues to outdo itself, setting new records in several areas, including the total number of visitors, airport travelers, sales attributable to tourism, number of people working in the tourism industry, hotel room nights sold, and economic impact, which is up 2.2% from 2022 .

Quick facts from 2023

• 7.79 million | Estimated number of people who visited the Charleston area
• 70.7% | Average hotel occupancy
• $185 | Average daily rate of a hotel
• 6.15 million | People passed through the Charleston International Airport

Economic impact from 2023

• $13.10 billion | Estimated total economic impact
• 53,700 | Tourism industry workers
• $1,048 | Average spending per adult
• 4.9 million | Hotel room nights sold
• 24.7% | Sales in the region attributed to tourism

For those looking to visit the 843, check out these must-see spots recommended by CHStoday readers.