Editor’s Note: This story is updated to correct the title. (Updated 20:40, July 21, 2025).
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Conway, the city is known for its elaborate decorations that cover its streets every time the holidays roll.
However, every year, those celebrations are at a difficult expense.
Conway is serious about its celebrations, even in October, changing its name to Halloween, when pumpkins and skeletons rise beyond every corner. Come Christmas time, the city becomes a flashing beacon directly from the Hallmark movie. Decorating does not end with these main holidays – if the cause is celebrated, Conway dresses accordingly.
In the last three years alone, the city has spent more than half a million dollars on its decorations. These holiday costs, which have increased in recent years, are the effort to attract more visitors to the city, but did it work?
One year after a year of holiday decorations, a healthy planning, effort and money dose is needed. However, the city thinks that the tourists he brings to the city is worth it, and the joy it brings to residents all year round.
“Holiday decorations and events provide additional value for the quality of life of our residents,” said the city spokesman June Wood email. In the letter of The Sun News. “Over the past few years, increased décor has correlated with increased pedestrian flow and higher income for companies.”
The Rivertown Christmas celebration takes place every Thursday night before the holidays. Conway, SC Storewronts have live window screens, holiday markets and train rides, holiday characters and live music in the Town Hall. TSN 2024. December 13 The case.
According to Wood, the city expenditure reports are shared, Conway has released more than $ 100,000 in the last three fiscal years to make the holiday remodeling possible.
In the 2022-2023 fiscal year, the city spent $ 116,391 on decorations. Next year she spent $ 198,264 on decorations. In the 2024-2025 Fiscal Year, the Grand Decoration was just over $ 229,712.
According to Wood, holiday decorations are funded through city “hospitality funds”. These funds are collected from the city business, not from residents’ taxes.
The Conway holiday decoration, as you know, started in 2019, when plastic sockets were hung from the main street along the main street. Since then, the holidays have continued to grow.
“I think 2019 has actually started as a more community-oriented event,” Wood said in an interview. However, during the first few years of decorating, Wood said he became interested in Conway’s holidays, which he spent on Conway, expanded to the region and then a national scale.
Halloween decorations in October lift Conway streets. Holidays have become such a big event in South Carolina that the name of the city is changed by the monthly announcement of Halloween. TSN 2024. September 5 The case.
According to city seasonal visits, pedestrian traffic has also increased over the years, especially during Halloween and Christmas.
2019 In October, Conway welcomed just 150,000 visitors. Over the past few years, the city has seen more than twice as many tourists in Halloween months, and more than 225,000 people have stopped until 2024. October
Chart showing the total number of Conway visitors, SC 2017-2024. October
2019 December On average, 4,000 visitors walked the streets of Conway every day, and about 8,000 visitors arrived in the city on average every weekend. From 2024 December On average, just over 6,000 visitors came to the city, and the weekend jumped up to almost 12,000 daily.
A chart showing the average number of daily visitors in Conway, SC in December, both in general and on weekends from 2017 to 2024.
Wood in an email stated that the decorations were worth the city’s goal because they give people more reasons to visit the city, so more business is needed. In a later interview, Wood said the city has increased hospitality funds and urban income since the beginning of the decoration, which opens up more opportunities as it is the funds used for the decor.
She also said the business said it was useful for them as well.
Over the past few years, Wood explained that the city has also begun to “freeze” on other holidays, such as Valentine’s Day.
“We have found that in every new season, our residents are delighted with other seasonal holidays and are planning family events and holidays that will be given additional activities,” she wrote.
Before decorating the holiday, the Wood said the city did not bring much tourism. In addition to some people on the day’s trips for a walk on the river trail, or the families visiting the coastal University of Carolina, Conway did not suffer much for traffic.
Although Wood said that the purpose of the city is not tourism, but rather to become a better place to live in the population, she noted that the decoration of the city had significantly changed outside the city.
The spirit of the Conway community and the new flow of income created by decorating was worth the cost, Wood said. The city does not intend to stop its holidays soon.