Palmetto State takes Manhattan: South Carolina invests $1.5M in New York City tourism blitz

In an ambitious effort to lure travelers south for the winter and beyond, the state of South Carolina recently invested nearly $1.5 million in a high-profile marketing push across New York City.

The multi-day campaign, dubbed “SC in the City,” placed the Palmetto State’s coastal retreats, historic corridors, and cultural landmarks directly in front of millions of commuters and tourists in midtown Manhattan.

Billboards and Southern Hospitality

The promotional effort featured seven massive digital billboards lighting up Times Square, broadcasting iconic South Carolina imagery—including the state’s signature palmetto tree and crescent emblem—above one of the world’s busiest pedestrian corridors.

Just a short walk away, the state took over Vanderbilt Hall inside Grand Central Terminal for a three-day interactive expo. The showcase featured regional food, live artisan demonstrations, and cultural displays spotlighting the state’s “Big 5” travel hubs: Charleston, Columbia, Greenville, Hilton Head Island, and Myrtle Beach.

Funded through supplemental tourism marketing dollars allocated by the South Carolina General Assembly, the effort represents the largest single metropolitan takeover the state has executed in over a decade, according to Duane Parrish, director of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT).

Courting the Northeast Corridor

State officials targeted the New York metropolitan area intentionally: it serves as South Carolina’s single largest visitor and relocation market outside of the Southeast.

Travel between the two regions is bolstered by roughly 75 weekly nonstop flights connecting New York airports—including JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark—to major South Carolina destinations such as Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Greenville-Spartanburg.

Preliminary agency figures indicate that the blitz generated more than 2 million impressions on social media and an additional 1.4 million earned media impressions.

While state analysts continue tracking direct lodging conversions and winter bookings stemming from the Midtown push, tourism officials noted that the success of the New York campaign could serve as a blueprint for similar multi-day showcases in other key domestic travel markets.