The Sun Rises in the...South?

Sun Rising in Georgetown,SC
 

Everyone knows that the sun rises in the east but that does not prevent South Carolinians and visitors from enjoying beautiful views like in the picture above taken by Dr. David Cardenas. Dr. Cardenas is on a 2-day tour of  the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina for a branding project funded by the Economic Development Administration. Dr. Cardenas will be interviewing locals and gathering opinions from key stakeholders that will contribute to the project's research base.

Feeling Dizzy

Statue dedicated to Dizzy Gillespie in downtown Cheraw, SC

One of the most rewarding parts of working for the SmartState Center for Economic Excellence in Tourism and Economic Development is discovering all of the wonderful hidden treasures nestled away in the small towns of South Carolina. While conducting interviews today aimed at strengthening tourism in the Pee Dee Region of South Carolina, Dr. Cardenas discovered that Cheraw, SC is the home of Dizzy Gillespie. What a treat to visit the hometown of this bebop legend!

Final Report from Bluffton Branding Project Released

In May 2013, the town of Bluffton, located between big sisters Savannah, GA and Hilton Head Island, SC, embarked on a partnership with Rawl Murdy Associates of Charleston SC and USC Columbia/Beaufort to strengthen their tourism and economic presence in the Lowcountry through rebranding efforts that would distinguish them among their neighbors. With both a magnificent past and a magnificent future, the town wanted to capture the quaint small town feel of their community and highlight the town's economic development. The research team used mixed methods data collection methods. They conducted 36 in-depth key stakeholder interviews, facilitated 4 community Charettes with over 100 individuals in attendance and collected 624 surveys targeting visitors, residents, local leaders, business owners and potential business owners. The culmination of the data has led to the development of the Heart of the Lowcountry brand that will be viewed through a variety of media outlets including  radio, TV, social media, print and billboards. To access the full report, click below:

http://www.hrsm.sc.edu/CoEETourismandED/PDFs/BlufftonReport.pdf

The Masters of Customer Service

 

It is Masters week in Augusta Georgia, and spectators from all over the world will experience top-notch customer service. And not just because we have over 500 of our students working there for the duration of the tournament. The strong customer service philosophy was instilled years ago by a man called Cliff Roberts. The tournament was conceived, nurtured and run for nearly forty years by Roberts, and more than three decades after his death, the Masters still operates as if he were at the controls. Customer service excellence was the guiding principal behind Robert’s perfectionism and his conception of almost every aspect of the club and the tournament. His practice of calling spectators ‘patrons’ was a reflection of his belief that the purpose of the club during Masters week was to serve the people whose support had made the tournament possible in the first place.

The Masters is still viewed almost universally as the best-run golf tournament in the world, if not the best-run sporting event, and it has maintained its standing without acquiring the modern trappings of success. Spectators can still buy lunch for half the price of any other tournament, because Roberts believed that anyone who had to travel hundreds of miles to watch a game of golf ought to be able to buy a decent meal at a decent price. Teams of uniformed workers constantly clean up after spectators because Roberts felt that litter detracted from the beauty of the course and the dignity of the event. In fact, the cups and sandwich bags are green, making them nearly invisible to television cameras – a major issue with Roberts. Members still wear their green coats all week, as they have done since 1937, because Roberts felt that knowledgeable sources of information ought to be easily identifiable to spectators in need of assistance.

Pearls of Wisdom

Dr. Hudson interviewing Pearl Fryar of Bishopville

Dr. Hudson interviewing Pearl Fryar at his Topiary Garden in Bishopville

A few years ago, we examined opportunities for tourism development in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina, and results showed limited brand recognition and a need for innovative marketing to increase awareness of the region as an attractive place to visit. So building on this previous work, the Center recently won an Economic Development Administration grant to establish a brand identity for the Pee Dee, a region plagued by high poverty and unemployment, low educational levels, and a high number of dislocated workers. The first stage of this research will focus on establishing the core values of the Pee Dee, and so the team has just started conducting interviews with key stakeholders and decision makers in the area.  

The first interviewee in this project was the charismatic Pearl Fryar from the Pearl Fryar Topiary Garden in Bishopville. Pearl started work on his garden in the 1980s, and has since appeared in numerous television shows, including the documentary A Man named Pearl. Today, visitors come from all over the world to meet Pearl and to see his garden. “We had 15,000 visitors last year from as far away as Japan, Australia Germany, Sweden and the UK”.  For Pearl, the key to economic success is education. When Fryar gives a lecture to young people, he doesn't talk about pruning techniques or soil amendment. He'd rather urge people to use what they have and put their creativity to work -- lessons his garden taught him. "Don't allow some test score to determine where you go in life," he says. And, "If you're the smartest person in your circle of friends, you need to get smarter friends." For Pearl, the key to attracting more tourists to the Pee Dee is marketing. “We have the products – we just need to package them well. Improved signage on the highway would also go a long way to promoting our area” he says. To learn more about Pearl’s amazing work, go to www.pearlfryar.com

Pearl's topiary garden in Bishopville,SC



Local residents and business owners aim to enhance hospitality and tourism in Calhoun Falls, SC

Dr. Hudson guides participants in customer service training exercise

On March 28th, 2014, the SmartState Center, in partnership with the SC Great Outdoors, facilitated a day long hospitality/tourism customer service training and small business training in the town of Calhoun Falls, SC.  Dr. Simon Hudson and Dr. David Cárdenas traveled to Calhoun Falls and provided a research-based, highly interactive session to residents and business owners in the town. The aim of the training was to provide the participants with the  tools needed to grow their businesses and contribute to the community's destination brand.

Dr. Cardenas leads small business discussion with participants

A Working Spring Break in Curacao

Dr. Cárdenas with students at the ICUC

USC's HRTM and ICUC (Inter-Continental University of the Caribbean) are in the initial stages of developing a  long-term academic partnership.  As part of our partnership, Dr. Cárdenas was invited  to Curacao to teach a one-week intensive course during USC’s spring break from March 10th-14th, 2014.  The course was titled,'Destination Management and Marketing' and Dr. Cárdenas focused primarily on the topic of branding.  The  11 students met Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm. During the one week course students attend lectures, worked on case studies, conducted a small pilot study to develop a brand for the island, presented their brand, and took a comprehensive final exam.  Also, during the week , Dr. Cárdenas conducted three TV interviews and one newspaper interview. In the spirit of this new partnership, Dr. Robin Dipietro will  travel to Curacao to teach a course on Revenue Management in April 2014 and in June 2014, students from ICUC will spend 5 weeks in Columbia to participate in the HRTM program.