Returns on Sand in the Palmetto State

San Clemente to Folly Beach, Haleiwa to Huntington, for surfers and tourists alike, beaches are a simple attraction with an astounding value. In our series The Business of Beaches we take a look at this often underfunded natural resource—and why it’s worth protecting.

The Business of Beaches

When you think about South Carolina, most folks don’t generally associate the state with beach tourism. College football, sure; surf n’ sun—not as much.

Regardless, its economy has been changing rapidly over the past several decades. Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina famously said that the state “used to thrive on supplying textile and tobacco (but) now leans on two very different ‘t’s’: tourism and transportation.”

In fact, one in every 10 jobs in the state is within the tourism industry. And furthermore, South Carolina’s economic growth from tourism over the five years from 2015 through 2019 was about 150% greater than the U.S. national economic growth over the same period. Spoiler: coastal beaches are the state’s greatest single attraction.

Naturally, when South Carolina beaches were under threat, the state sought to replenish them. And replenish them it did, to the tune of ~$20 million annually over the 30-year period from 1990-2019. That equates to 1.7 million cubic yards of sand, annually.

What did the state get in return for its investment? Nourished beaches advanced 110 feet on average—and tourism friggin’ boomed.

South Carolina beach tourists generate $16.6 billion annually in South Carolina economic development and about $1.8 billion in taxes. For each $1 spent on beach nourishment, South Carolina receives over $1,200 in economic development generated by beach tourists, while federal, state, and local governments receive almost $130 in taxes (for every dollar spent on beach nourishment).

One hell of an ROI, no?

And yet… On a national level, when it comes to investing in and protecting this precious resource, it’s wildly underfunded.

Out of the 3.4 billion beach visits annually in the US, with annual expenditures of $175 million for beach nourishment—approximately $0.05 is spent on beach nourishment for every beach visit, (with about half of that (($0.025)) funded by the federal government. The other half funded by state/local governments.

For perspective, put those 3.4 billion US beach visits up against the 327 million visits to national parks. National parks have a budget of $3.2 billion, and the federal government spends $9.79 for every visit to a national park compared to $0.025 for every beach visitor.

Doesn’t take an economics major to see that our beaches (THE main tourist attraction in our nation) could use some love.