Latest news with #BloombergAssociates
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Charleston tourism generated $14 billion in 2024: officials say visitors are spending more
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) Charleston's tourism industry is booming, and this year saw a large increase in its economic growth. Officials are working to make sure the economic benefits of the tourism industry reach residents, with this upward trend. The Future of Responsible Tourism Advocacy Aorum aims to create a roadmap for the tourism industry in the Lowcountry, with an emphasis on benefitting locals Explore Charleston reports they had over 14 billion dollars in economic impact from the tourism industry just last year from around 7.8 million visitors. 'We've seen a spike that happened immediately out of covid. We've rebounded fairly quickly from covid, and we've seen a steady growth ever since then so it's great to see still tracking on an upward trend even through 2024,' said Dan Blumenstock, the Board Chairman for Explore Charleston's Board of Governors. Officials say data from 2024 showed a 7 % increase in economic impact from the previous year, with just a 1% increase in visitors. According to officials, this trend means visitors to Charleston are spending more and staying longer, making Charleston one of the top tourism cities. 'If you look across the southeast and all those cities, we compare ourselves to, we are the strongest across all of those cities,' said Blumenstock. The Historic Charleston Foundation is hosting the Future of Responsible Tourism Advocacy Forum Tuesday night. They are partnering with the City of Charleston, Explore Charleston and the Bloomberg Associates. Bloomberg Associates will work with city leaders on a future road map for the tourism industry in Charleston and how they can improve their tourism management. Leaders say one goal is working to make sure that locals feel the economic impact of tourism. 'We need to make sure we are honoring the needs of the residents while at the same time honoring a smart strategic tourism vision,' said Winslow Hastie, the President of the Historic Charleston Foundation. They're hoping for tourism dollars to go straight back into the community. 'We're very interested in focusing on how the dollars generated by tourism mainly in the public sector, accommodations tax and hospitality tax, how we can ensure those dollars are reinvested in the community to benefit the local community which also benefits tourists,' said Hastie. The Bloomberg Associates are hoping to return in the fall with ideas to improve the tourism management in Charleston. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
'The Gates' return to NYC's Central Park 20 years later, but in a new form
NEW YORK - The Gates art installation in Central Park made quite a mark on New York City back in 2005. They're back 20 years later, but this time in augmented reality. The Gates was a site-specific work of art by the duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude. There were 7,503 gates along 23 miles of footpaths throughout the park. A panel of saffron colored fabric hung from each 16-foot-high gate for just 16 days in February 2005. It cost about $21 million at the time. The Gates in Central Park 2025 Now, there's a commemorative exhibit on display at The Shed in Hudson Yards and, starting Wednesday, there's the augmented reality experience in the park. Here's how it works. When you get to Central Park, open the Bloomberg Connects app on your phone, look for a display with a QR code and scan it. You will soon find yourself in the public art installation from 2005. "We have the photographs and we have the film footage. This is (a) more interactive and more (on site) record of how the project looked," said Vladimir Yavachev, the director of projects for Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Gates in 2005 Those who worked on the original Gates project pointed out it's a significant part of the city's history after the 9/11 attacks. "The city was still recovering from that time and it was a really incredible moment to see everyone come out into the park to connect with one another," said Megan Sheekey of Bloomberg Associates. "In the newspapers during the project, which said it was so nice to see for the first time New Yorkers look up and enjoy, post 9/11," Yavachev told CBS News New York. Both hope New Yorkers of all ages are happy to see The Gates resurgence. "It was an incredibly meaningful project," Sheekey said. "For those of us that have nostalgia for the original project, it's a great celebration of that time but also for the next generation, I think it really is a testament to the power of public art."
