Coastal Carolina University's most-recent lodging report from The Brittain Center for Resort Tourism shows a positive trend as July's occupancy numbers could be the best on the Grand Stand in four years.
And many local towns and cities are getting more aggressive in their marketing.
“I am Conway” is a slogan on dozens of posters on display in store front windows in downtown Conway.
Gail Alexander, executive director of Conway main Street USA, the organization behind the campaign, said the unique marketing campaign showcases local merchants and citizens that make the city so special.
Ron Pougnaud, owner of Forgotten Times Antiques in historic downtown Conway and someone you will see on one of the posters, said history is one of the reasons he moved his antique store to Conway. Pougnaud said he wanted to take advantage of the historic homes and atmosphere that highlight the city's laid back, meandering lifestyle. But said that lifestyle doesn't mean the city is immune from what's happening. "With the economy the way that it is now we've had a significant decrease over last year, as you can see right now on the streets, there's traffic going by but there's not a lot of foot traffic, I think with everything that has happened, people are not shopping as much."
Alexander said the posters are also boosting morale downtown and filling what were once empty store windows with a little warmth and personality. “They actually created some awareness of the empty stores and has gotten people interested in the possibility of actually opening up their own shops and in fact over the past couple of months we've had eight shops open up."
Opening up Conway to the rest of the world is something the visitor coordinator Betty Molnar said is definitely happening. Molnar said they get visitors from foreign countries and just about every state in the country. Molnar said while many people who come to the area head for the beach, many of them are finding out Conway has a lot to offer. "Sometimes we'll get a very sunburned group of people who come in and we know that they've decided to get away from the beach for a day and some people will consider this an educational visit.” Molnar said at the visitors center, they’ve seen an increase of about 2,000 people each year since 2203 and so far, July may be the best July ever.
Pougnaud said he hopes the unique qualities downtown Conway offers will convince more people to not just walk around, but actually walk into store and spend money and maybe get the same feeling he does about Conway. "It's that small town atmosphere that you used to see years ago that you just don't see anymore and this is one of the small vibrant towns that still actually up and running and I love it down here."
The “I am Conway” campaign runs through early fall.
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