Image by Flickr user flattop341Image by 20081210-tourism.jpg

For the city's plethora of projects aimed at tourism and recreation, few actually turn a profit. And with Charleston in a budget crunch, The Charleston City Paper's Greg Hambrick took a look at where the cash is flowing. An excerpt:
The cities garages and the Market could provide more money to the annual budget, but first they have to pay for the handful of other enterprise projects. Some come close to covering their costs, while others wallow deep in the red year after year. Collectively, these projects are projected to drain $900,000 from the city's budget in 2009 — at a time when every dollar counts.

Hambrick has done a good roundup of what pies the city has its fingers in, so it's a worthy read. Go read it.

But, you won't have to talk to too many folks before you're told that the attractions help non-city business make cash as they draw the tourist in.