SmartState Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism Newsletter| Issue 1 Spring 2013 (PDF)

What is the SC Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development?

Established by the South Carolina General Assembly in 2002, the SC Centers of Economic Excellence Program (or SmartState) is investing in talent and infrastructure at South Carolina's three research universities to drive economic development. The program has appropriated $200 million—which will be matched dollar-for-dollar by non-state funds—to the state's three main research institutions to fund research and create endowed professorships that will spur the state's economic development. The University of South Carolina has been approved for 14 Centers of Economic Excellence and one of these new centers of excellence is in Tourism and Economic Development.

The Center was established in 2010 with a specific goal to encourage research that is to be directly applicable to tourism in South Carolina. Tourism is now the number one industry in South Carolina, responsible for more than $17 billion dollars in spending and employing more than 200,000 people – approximately 10% of South Carolina’s workforce.

The Tourism and Economic Development Center of Economic Excellence is housed in the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. The Center’s director is Dr. Simon Hudson. In conjunction with industry, faculty and graduate students, the Center performs tourism and hospitality-based research and disseminates and grows this knowledge-base through publications, public seminars, workshops and forums. Above all, the Center makes explicit the local-to-global connections between tourism and economic development and ensures that research is relevant and directly applicable to South Carolina.

Invest in the Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development.
http://smartstatesc.org/invest

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Simon Hudson, Director
Center of Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development

College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management
University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC 29208
Phone: 803-777-2705

Email: shudson@hrsm.sc.edu

SmartStateSC.org