How do we count them?

How many bikers show up for the spring bike weeks? Who has numbers you can count on and how do they arrive at the figures? Do you base the number on hotel occupancy? Police or chamber estimates? Your best guess?

Today's front page story about the beginning of the spring rallies said more visitors are expected this year. That projection is based on the number of visitors expected to fill area hotel rooms comapred to those that filled rooms last year. That may be the only quantifiable way we have to judge the number of bike visitors. What it doesn't include are people who don't stay in hotels or who drive into town for the day and don't stay overnight. How many are there really?

Those of us who live here probably base our best guesses on how hard it is to get around during the Harley and Atlantic Beach rallies or whether or not the noise levels seem higher or lower than years past or how much trash is piling up before crews can collect it in the morning.

It's important in our coverage because it helps readers understand the history of these events, their impact on our communities and the taxes we pay to host them. Our ongoing community debate is whether or not the rallies are good for us, good for our economy, good for our future. Now that economists at Coastal Carolina University have made capturing tourism numbers part of their ongoing research data, we've made progress toward more accurate numbers.   

Comments

[Captain]

It is a simple answer. The residents do NOT want them. There are many reasons we wish they would go someplace else. There are just too many of them. A few thousand would be nice. Now lets not get too PC with 'Atlantic Beach Bike Week'. It IS still Black Bike Week.Absolutely NO CLASS and a lot of -- well just leave off the 1st 2 letters of what they lack!

[T.Carter]

I agree 100% with the Captain. No one wants them here. They should go ugly up some other place.

[Ralph Short]

I don't know, we actually look forward to their arrival. Just another sign of summer arriving and most of them to me seem like decent taxpaying citizens. Of course, after a week of it we are also happy to have some peace and quiet.

[Captain]

Yes-- but then the next group comes. Try driving through Little River this weekend. Ralph, it is nice to know someone looks forward to this mess, just as there must be some one willing to pay to have a stranger hit them on the head with a hammer.

[I leave....]

I live in Garden City at the beach and must leave my own home each year during Harley week. As always, the worst ones speak for the others. Loud, disrespectful, inconsiderate. And why do they always pick the beach....they don't go to the beach. Please go to Columbia, Rock Hill, Charlotte...there are plenty of hotel rooms there. As soon as word gets out that the motorcycle folks will stop gathering here in May, our hotels will be once again filled to capacity during this beautiful month.
As I drove back into town yesterday, I saw them relieving themselves on the side of the road and I even saw one using the median strip grass while his cohorts stood by and pointed and laughed.
And ask the people at Home Depot, the dry cleaners, Barnes & Noble and/or Alligator Adventure....ask them just how much money they earn during these weeks.