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Accommodations and Attractions

The following are guidelines for the inclusion of accommodations and attractions on the Official Tourism Website for the State of South Carolina. The South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism developed these guidelines to better facilitate the listing of accommodations and attractions pertinent to the promotion of travel and tourism for the state of South Carolina.
 

For the purpose of these guidelines, the term “accommodations” is to include:

  • Hotels, Motels, and Resorts 
  • Bed & Breakfast Inns and Historical Inns 
  • Campgrounds and RV Parks 
  • State Park Lodging 
  • Vacation Rentals

For the purpose of these guidelines, the term “attraction” is to include:

  • African-American
  • Agricultural
  • Amusement Center
  • Aquarium and/or Zoo
  • Equestrian
  • Garden
  • Golf Course
  • Guided Tour
  • Historical Church or Synagogue
  • Historical Site
  • Lake or Waterfall
  • Landmark
  • Local Park
  • Military Site and/or Museum
  • Motor Sport 
  • Multi-event Facility 
  • Museum and Gallery 
  • National and/or State Forest 
  • National Park 
  • Nature-based 
  • Performing Arts Center 
  • Planetarium 
  • Resort Island 
  • Retreat Center 
  • Shopping 
  • Sport 
  • Sports Facility 
  • Theatre and Performing Arts 
  • Trail 
  • Visitor Center 
  • Wildlife preserve

For inclusion, all attractions and accommodations:

  • Must promote tourism in South Carolina and be a legally operating and tax-paying (if applicable) business. 
  • Must be located within the borders of the state of South Carolina and have a South Carolina site or street mailing address. 
  •  Must be reasonably clean and meet state Department of Health guidelines, if applicable. 
  •  Admission must be available to the general public without discrimination on the basis of race, creed, age, sex, or nationality according to South Carolina law. 
  •  Cannot promote gaming/gambling, nudity, drunkenness or lewd behavior. 

For inclusion, golf courses are defined as follows:

  • A public course is one that allows any citizen/visitor to make a golf reservation and play the course.
  • A semi-private course is one that allows any citizen/visitor to make a golf reservation and play the course on some limited, on-going basis - -without the aide of a member of the course to obtain access.
  • A private course is one that does not allow a citizen/visitor to make a golf reservation and play the course and/or one that requires a member to sponsor the citizen/visitor in order for the public citizen to play.

SCPRT will include all public and semi-private courses, as defined above, in the state’s consumer marketing channels and only these courses will be accepted into co-op advertising programs, including on-line advertising on SCPRT’s web sites.

In addition to these guidelines:

  • All attractions must be open to the general public at least 2 days a week and at least 3 hours per day. 
  •  Conference centers wishing to be listed must have an adjoined hotel that takes reservations from the general public. 
  •  Vacation-rental properties affiliated with a vacation realty company will only be listed with that realtor. Timeshares or membership establishments that do not rent to the traveling public or that offer a discount/gift in exchange for a sales presentation are prohibited. 
  • Properties requiring a mandatory stay of more than one week are not listed in The Official South Carolina Vacation Guide. 
  •  Sporting venues must have a minimum occupancy of 10,000 and must offer attractions to the general public in addition to sporting events (i.e., museums, tours, etc.). 
  •  All state sponsored and owned parks, markets, visitor centers, and other facilities are automatically eligible for inclusion.

All attraction and accommodation tourism product owners, that currently have a listing on the website, may update their entries 24/7 in the electronic marketing database. All updates will be reviewed by the appropriate Data Editor before publication. If inclusion of the attraction or accommodation is denied, the respective tourism product owner may submit an appeal, in writing, to the Sales and Marketing Office of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. When the appeal has been processed, action will be taken as to the inclusion status of the attraction or accommodation in question.

Attractions and accommodations seeking a NEW listing must contact the appropriate Data Editor. Submission of an attraction or accommodation does not guarantee a listing.

It is the express responsibility of the property owner or manager to provide complete and accurate information of their attraction or accommodation. The property owner or manager is also responsible for updating this information in a timely manner as needed.

Any attraction or accommodation that meets the guidelines listed herein is eligible for inclusion in Smiles and Places as well as for a listing on the Official Tourism Website for the State of South Carolina. Membership with any private organization or association is not required for inclusion.

Approval/disapproval for inclusion of attractions and accommodations into The Official South Carolina Vacation Guide and the Official Tourism Website for the State of South Carolina is at the sole discretion of the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. SCPRT reserves all rights for final editing of tourism product descriptions.

Updated: February 26, 2007