We hope your summer is off to a great start! This month, we bring you news about records set and milestones achieved in the Charleston area in the aviation, automotive, tourism and spelling bee sectors. Please follow the links where you see bold blue font for further information about any of the topics of particular interest to you.
Boeing's largest ever order has just been placed, with Qatar Airways planning to purchase up to 210 widebody jets, including the largest order for 787 Dreamliners made in North Charleston. According to Qatar Airways’ CEO, this is the airline’s largest ever order as well, making it “a critical next step… as we invest in the cleanest, youngest and most efficient fleet in global aviation”. Skytrax has named Qatar Airways the World’s Best Airline eight times, the most for any airline.
Mercedes-Benz’s 5-millionth Sprinter van - an all-electric eSprinter - was recently assembled in its Ladson plant and sold to its long-term, major fleet customer FedEx during the model’s 30th anniversary year. The Charleston plant first opened in 2006, underwent a major expansion in 2018, and began production of the new eSprinter in 2024. With over 1,600 employees, it remains the company’s only van plant in the U.S.
According to the College of Charleston’s Office of Tourism Analysis, Charleston’s 7.8 million visitors in 2024 generated a $14 billion economic impact that was close to 7% higher than the previous record impact in 2023. With the number of visitors only increasing by just over 1% during this period, average spending per visitor has also increased. Other data supports this, with more higher-value and longer-stay visitors coming to Charleston. This recent growth is a continuation of the pattern seen since 2019, with a 45% increase in economic impact and a 6% increase in visitor numbers over this 5-year period.
Charleston’s local tourism plan is getting an update! With the tourism sector continuing to grow comes a mix of benefits and challenges - especially in historic downtown Charleston and its immediate surroundings - that need to be well-managed within the context of development pressures and livability concerns. Bloomberg Associates is assisting the City of Charleston, Historic Charleston Foundation and Explore Charleston with this effort. The City will be launching a website where local residents can submit comments and Bloomberg will hold a second forum this coming fall to provide data and recommendations for the City to consider and incorporate as it updates its plan.
John Donato, 14 years old and a student of Woodland Middle School in Dorchester County, not only won The Post and Courier’s 33rd annual SpellBound! Spelling Bee in March of this year, but qualified for and made it to the semifinals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, now celebrating its 100th anniversary! Out of 243 contestants from across the country, he was the only one from the Lowcountry, advanced the furthest of the five contestants from SC and ultimately tied for 20th place! Faizan Zaki from Plano, Texas won after coming in second last year. Congrats to all who participated!
