Abstract

The South Carolina (SC) Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series is comprised of competitive fishing tournaments targeting various billfish species (e.g. blue marlin, sailfish, etc.) caught off of the SC coast. Using self-administered questionnaires distributed at the seven Series tournatments and follow-up mail questionnaires, expenditure data associated with tournament boats and marina visitors were collected during the 1997 Series. Using the questionnaire data, total expenditures associated with nonresident (i.e. out-of-state and SC boat owners not residing in the coastal region) tournament boats and visitors were estimated. Based upon total expenditures of nonresident tournament boats and visitors, the economic impacts of the Series in the eight coastal counties (i.e. Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Georgetown, Horry, and Jasper County) of the tournament sites were estimated using an economic impact analysis software, IMPLAN, and coastal county economic data. In an eight-county coastal region of South Carolina, total expenditures related to these nonresident tournament boats and marina visitors during the 1997 Series generated $728,000 in total sales (output) impact, nearly $245,000 in total income impact, and 13 short-term jobs. This report clearly documents that the 1997 SC Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series as a sequence of short-term special events (i.e. billfish fishing tournaments) generated sales and related income in a coastal, eight-county regional economy due to tournament related expenditures by nonresidents.

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