Oconee County should benefit along with the rest of the Upstate region being targeted as a “Tourism Destination Area” by the state.

In its new South Carolina Tourism Action Plan, the state wants to develop tourism clusters that would attract inland visitors and thus expand the state’s tourism industry beyond its popular coastal areas.

The Tourism Action Plan (TAP) identifies the area centered on Greenville, including Lake Keowee and Lake Jocassee in Oconee County, as a tourism cluster with the potential of attracting many visitors.

Among the projects identified for possible development in the TAP study is a Lake Jocassee/Keowee resort that would include a hotel and villas.

Chris Stone, president of the Greater Greenville Convention and Visitor Bureau, who participated in the TAP study, said development of the Northwest tourism cluster wouldn’t happen over night.

He said Oconee, as well as Anderson, Pickens and other Upstate areas, needs to make an assessment of what they have that would appeal to tourists. Stone sees this assessment as a two-step process that includes knowing your product and marketing it.

“The better our neighbors are, the better our destination is for visitors who come to our area,” Stone said.

Oconee County is poised to begin its tourism assessment this summer with a survey being conducted by Clemson University graduate students.

The random survey hopes to gauge Oconee residents’ attitudes toward tourism and ask what kind of attractions they would support having to lure visitors.

The Clemson study could not come at a better time. In the coming weeks, the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism will issue a Request For Proposal to develop 325 acres south of the I-85 Welcome Center in Oconee County.

The SCPRT recently told the Daily Journal that it wants the property developed for public recreation.

South Carolina is poised to increase its efforts on growing its $10.9 billion a year tourism industry. According to the TAP study, by investing more in marketing and creating tourism clusters, South Carolina could generate $40 billion in tourism revenue by 2020.