Here's some good news in bad times:

South Carolina’s state parks have taken in record revenue every month since May.

Revenue is up 58% year-over-year for September.

Short-term hotel rentals also increased 17.6% that same month.

Hotels continue to perform at 30%-40% below last year but short-term rentals, vacation homes, B&Bs and Airbnb properties are reporting modest gains.

The trend suggests travelers want accommodations with more space and more privacy.

Due to lost hotel bookings, fiscal-year-to-date admission taxes are at a 43.1% deficit from 2019.

A accommodations taxes collected in South Carolina are down 16.9% at $17.7 million.

South Carolina’s tourism revenue  dropped $5.2 billion since February,.

That's a 43% decrease year-over-year, according to Tourism Economics, a global consulting company.

In Oct. 25-31, state visitor spending dropped 32% to $99 million compared to the same week in 2019.

That was a $3 million decrease from the week ending Oct. 24.

The state’s recorded hotel occupancy for the week ending Oct. 31 was 45.6%, 1.2% above the national average, S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism said.

Anderson County led the state at 72.7%, most likely due to visitors for Clemson University’s home football games.

To date, hotel revenue per available room is down 40.9% from 2019 across the state.

The lack of accommodation tax revenue — which is expected to be under budget by millions in the 2020 fiscal year — has impacted the entire state.

The money helps capital improvements and supports public services, and arts groups, festivals and events that bring heads to beds.