CLEMSON — Clemson University’s Conference Center and Inn complex has a $14 million average annual impact on the local economy and maintains more than 345 jobs through operations and patron spending in South Carolina, according to a study.
The study, by the Regional Dynamics and Economic Modeling Laboratory at the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs, looked at the economic impact the complex had on Pickens, Oconee, Anderson and Greenville counties each year from 2006 to 2010. It studied the impact of the operations of the Madren Center, Walker Golf Course and Martin Inn, as well as the impact of dollars spent by visitors to the complex.
The $14 million includes the direct, indirect and induced impacts of the Conference Center and Inn. Direct impact includes the jobs and incomes of Conference Center and Inn employees and purchases of goods and services from local suppliers. Indirect impact counts the jobs and incomes created by those suppliers. Induced impact is the increased economic activity in the local economy through consumer spending resulting from income generated by the Conference Center and Inn’s economic activity.
“Ripples in a pond is a good illustration to describe indirect and induced effects,” said Rob Carey, interim director of the Regional Dynamics and Economic Modeling Laboratory at the Strom Thurmond Institute. “Every time someone spends money at a business, then that business is able to turn around and spend money somewhere else, and so on.”