SENECA — Tourism-related dollars spent in Oconee County and Pickens County grew to $46.9 million and $74.3 million in 2007, respectively, a new state report shows.

Visitors to Oconee spent 7.9 percent more in 2007 than the $43.5 million spent in 2006. In Pickens County, visitors spent 5.2 percent more in 2007 than the $70.6 million 2006 expenditures recorded in the South Carolina Department of Park, Recreation and Tourism report, which shows the economic impact of domestic travel on counties throughout the state.

Only three other counties had a higher percentage increase than Oconee: Abbeville (12.9 percent), Charleston (9.1 percent) and Union (8.7 percent).

The increasing impact of tourism as a viable economic engine in the Upstate is heartening to Oconee government officials who are looking to get a bigger return on tourism investment.

Earlier in the year, the Oconee County Council set aside $480,000 over three years from accommodations tax money to launch a Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB). On Thursday, county leaders announced the selection of local entrepreneur Ken Sloan to head the CVB. The start-up organization begins its work Monday.

The 2007 state report shows that domestic tourism supported 450 jobs in Oconee and generated $7.7 million in wages. Spending in hotels and restaurants by visitors in Oconee also produced $2.9 million in taxes for the state and almost $2.7 million for the county.

In Pickens, tourism produced almost $13.2 million in wages and employed about 820 workers.

Myrtle Beach in Horry County continues to be the biggest tourist draw in the state, followed by Charleston and Beaufort counties in the Coastal Carolinas. Visitors spent in excess of $5 billion in those areas.

Oconee and Pickens counties are hoping to get more exposure from a plan already under way to market an Upstate tourism cluster anchored by Greenville that would help entice coastal visitors to also explore the area’s lakes, mountains and rich history.