Visit Greenville credits SEC tournament, broad advertising with tourism gains and a ‘halo effect’ on quality of life

Heath, CEO of Visit Greenville, told Greenville City Council on an afternoon work session that the city saw record attendance during the recent SEC tournament and that early indicators show a substantial economic impact.

He said ticket and hotel data will take a few weeks to finalize but “all signs are pointing towards getting that really close to a $20,000,000 weekly sum.”

The bureau’s presentation emphasized two related goals: driving tourism and, increasingly, using visitation to strengthen Greenville’s reputation as a place to live and work. “Our mission … has broadened,” Heath said, adding that the organization now frames its work in three parts and that the “final third” is to “elevate the quality of life and prosperity for this community.”

Why it matters: The presentation connected short-term event revenue with longer-term economic development, arguing that visitor experiences and marketing create a “halo effect” that boosts perceptions of Greenville on attributes such as quality of life, business friendliness and suitability for raising a family. City leaders used the update to underline that tourism revenue helps fund amenities used by residents.

Details from the presentation

- Visit Greenville reported FY24 paid-media targeting reached 25 million households across the United States. Heath said the campaign produced an ad recall of about 43%, meaning roughly 11 million households could remember at least one Visit Greenville advertisement in the prior 12 months. He said the bureau measures how awareness maps to perception and travel decisions.

- The bureau surveyed more than 4,000 people in 2024 on perceptions of Greenville as a place to visit, live, raise a family, attend college and do business. Heath described increases of multiple-fold among respondents who became aware of advertising and then visited — for example, a “6x growth” in strongly agreeing Greenville is a great place to live and a “7x change” on some business-image measures for those who had visited and recalled ads.

- Heath said Visit Greenville’s FY24 organizational budget was about $15.2 million, and the city’s funding partnership accounted for roughly $4.6 million of that. He said the bureau’s reach now allows it to put Greenville in front of households who had not previously traveled to the area.

Council response and context

Council members praised the tournament turnout and the bureau’s broader role in supporting local amenities. One council member said tourism revenue supports parks and attractions such as Unity Park and Falls Park and that Visit Greenville has become “an integral part of the infrastructure” that makes Greenville attractive.

Heath also credited positive national press and social-media commentary; he quoted public praise from media and team officials about the visitor experience during the tournament.

What Visit Greenville did not say

Heath said final ticket- and hotel-derived economic-impact numbers will require two to three weeks of data processing. The presentation did not include a finalized economic-impact report or specific line-item accounting tying the tournament directly to city revenue streams. No formal council action was taken during the update.

Looking ahead

Council members asked for follow-up information on the bureau’s longer-term metrics tying ad spending to local job growth and housing effects. Heath and staff indicated they would continue to provide marketing and outcome data to council as it becomes available.