thedrifter
05-21-07, 07:15 AM
Parris Island, Beaufort partner up to promote tourism
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
Published Monday, May 21, 2007
BEAUFORT-- Almost every week, 400 to 800 young Marines graduate from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, each one bringing an average of three to four loved ones to Beaufort to cheer them on as they march across the parade deck.
Now, base and Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce officials want to make sure that's not all of the Lowcountry these thousands of visitors see. The partnership was just one of the focuses of the chamber's celebration of National Tourism Week that included extra booths and activities inside the Beaufort Visitor Center.
"It's kind of an untapped resource on both sides," Parris Island spokesman Lt. Scott Miller said while staffing a booth advertising the base at the Visitor Center on Wednesday. "We bring visitors to Beaufort through Parris Island. We need to get parents to lengthen that stay."
The base now sends out the chamber's visitors guide with every packet mailed home to recruits' families about three weeks before graduation so they can plan their trip, and it stocks the guides at the base's visitors center, Miller said. Parris Island also designed and posted maps of the easiest routes to get to and from each visitors center.
Chamber officials are "very pleased" with Parris Island's efforts, especially because "it's not their job," said Liz Mitchell, tourism marketing director for the organization.
"We need to help (recruits' visitors) understand how close everything is situated in Beaufort County," she said. "It's hard to understand everything is easy to reach."
She said she hopes that instead of hotel rooms in Beaufort being booked only Wednesday and Thursday nights that visitors decide to stay the weekend or show up early for a Lowcountry vacation.
And the partnership works the other way around, Miller said. Though simple, the base's tourism display offered a brochure outlining a self-guided tour of Parris Island, "Semper Fi" bumper stickers and basic information about the base's recruiting mission.
Several Beaufort visitors ask about Parris Island at the chamber's visitor center, tourism marketing manager Catherine Hipp said, and staff often refers them to the base's museum and golf course.
Miller admitted the military police guarding the base with M-16 rifles can make it hard for people to realize Parris Island is open to the public.
"It's paid for by the taxpayers," he said.
Ellie
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
Published Monday, May 21, 2007
BEAUFORT-- Almost every week, 400 to 800 young Marines graduate from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, each one bringing an average of three to four loved ones to Beaufort to cheer them on as they march across the parade deck.
Now, base and Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce officials want to make sure that's not all of the Lowcountry these thousands of visitors see. The partnership was just one of the focuses of the chamber's celebration of National Tourism Week that included extra booths and activities inside the Beaufort Visitor Center.
"It's kind of an untapped resource on both sides," Parris Island spokesman Lt. Scott Miller said while staffing a booth advertising the base at the Visitor Center on Wednesday. "We bring visitors to Beaufort through Parris Island. We need to get parents to lengthen that stay."
The base now sends out the chamber's visitors guide with every packet mailed home to recruits' families about three weeks before graduation so they can plan their trip, and it stocks the guides at the base's visitors center, Miller said. Parris Island also designed and posted maps of the easiest routes to get to and from each visitors center.
Chamber officials are "very pleased" with Parris Island's efforts, especially because "it's not their job," said Liz Mitchell, tourism marketing director for the organization.
"We need to help (recruits' visitors) understand how close everything is situated in Beaufort County," she said. "It's hard to understand everything is easy to reach."
She said she hopes that instead of hotel rooms in Beaufort being booked only Wednesday and Thursday nights that visitors decide to stay the weekend or show up early for a Lowcountry vacation.
And the partnership works the other way around, Miller said. Though simple, the base's tourism display offered a brochure outlining a self-guided tour of Parris Island, "Semper Fi" bumper stickers and basic information about the base's recruiting mission.
Several Beaufort visitors ask about Parris Island at the chamber's visitor center, tourism marketing manager Catherine Hipp said, and staff often refers them to the base's museum and golf course.
Miller admitted the military police guarding the base with M-16 rifles can make it hard for people to realize Parris Island is open to the public.
"It's paid for by the taxpayers," he said.
Ellie