Seneca approves SC Great Outdoors Initiative

An initiative designed to make South Carolina a friendlier place for tourists has been approved by the Seneca City Council after a presentation by Oconee County Parks, Recreation and Tourism director Phil Shirley. “The Great Outdoors Initiative is a program set up by the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor and it is goal is to look at your destination through the eyes of the visitors and see how you can improve what you offer in the visitor experience. So, there a ton of things through that program and we are extremely excited that Seneca jumped on board, Westminster has already approved it and we are still looking to make a presentation to Walhalla in the future.” The Seneca City Council approved $15,000 to the initiative. The City of Westminster allocated the same amount and the county contributed $40,000. The total cost of the program is $117,000 with the South Carolina Heritage Corridor matching local funding with federal money. Shirley says the South Carolina Great Outdoors Initiative will help the Golden Corner enhance its place in the tourism industry. “The National Heritage Corridor is actually the consultants on this group, so a lot of that money will go to their time over the next six to eight months of this process. They will be here in town, going through each section of this program. There are things in there from advertising to specific ad space, to building itineraries, to mobile apps, and then looking at design standards. What you want your visitors to see from the time they come into your county line, into your city limits, way-finding signage, so there is just a lot of things that encompass this program. We feel like we are ready to take that next step to engage and make the visitor experience that much better.” In 2013, visitors spent roughly $51 million in Oconee County enjoying the mountains, lakes, parks, food, shopping and lodging. Shirley anticipates that participation in the South Carolina Great Outdoors Initiative will increase that tourism-related expenditure number even more.