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Conway鈥檚 attempt to scare away visitors with spooky Halloween decorations was a failure again this year.

More than 235,000 guests wedged their way into the haunted historic district in October, an increase of 21% over last year, and 50.2% over 2022.

According to City Manager Adam Emrick, nearly 17,000 crowded into the downtown on Oct. 19 alone.

The visitors took all of the parking spaces, filled all of the restaurant seats, and caused long lines at red lights and cash registers. But no one is complaining.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a fantastic quality of life event,鈥� said city Councilmember William Goldfinch, praising city staff for turning Conway into the city of Halloween.

The economic impact is perhaps most evident at the city鈥檚 downtown restaurants, according to Hillary Howard of Conway Downtown Alive, which operates the visitor center and promotes the downtown.

鈥淢any restaurants reported a 10% to 12% increase over last year with wait times stretching to more than an hour or more on Thursday through Sunday nights,鈥� Howard said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been really, really busy,鈥� said the girl who answered the phone at Chanti鈥檚 Pizza on the riverfront one night last month. She said the manager didn鈥檛 have time to talk.

At Palmetto Taps, the new self-serve brew pub in downtown Conway, owner Brian Von said 鈥渢here鈥檚 been quite a bit of foot traffic. They really go all out in this town for Halloween.鈥�

Retail businesses also got a boost.

鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a good influx of business,鈥� said Brandon McShane, who manages Coastal Carolina University鈥檚 Teal Nation store on Main Street in Conway. 鈥淭here are a lot of people coming to Conway to see the decorations. It reinforces our decision to locate downtown.鈥�

Howard said some retail shops responded by staying open later, and report 鈥渢hat revenue is higher between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. than their typical 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. hours.鈥�

Traffic was also up at the visitor鈥檚 center, with a 40% increase in October over 2023.

鈥淲e are seeing many new faces. The tourists visiting are fabulous but creating a destination for the enjoyment of your residents and their families is what makes a city a community,鈥� Howard said.

Emrick, the city manager, told the city council that Halloween is now a bigger draw than Christmas decorations and events in downtown Conway. He said the city tracks guests through a proprietary software tool called Placer that tracks cell phones.

Last year in December, Conway had 175,000 visitors, and a single-day high of 13,000 for the parade, compared to 235,000 and 17,000 respectively for Halloween.

鈥淗alloween has been an overwhelming success,鈥� Emrick said, citing 鈥渁 staggering number of people.鈥�

The city adds new Halloween decorations and attractions every year, utilizing money from hospitality tax receipts, which are taxes on restaurant meals and hotel rooms that must be spent on visitor-related improvements.

This year a pirate ship was added at the city marina, augmenting existing attractions including the tunnel of bones, the witch鈥檚 garden and haunted city hall. More than 2,400 plastic pumpkins hung from the trees like orange Christmas bulbs.

And folks came from far and wide to walk the scary streets.

鈥淧eople are experiencing Conway in a new way; Conway is now seen in our region as a cool place to go,鈥� Emrick said.