Tourism in South Carolina continued to bounce back from the recession with growth in 2011, and officials anticipate more progress this year with plans that include adding technology to the state's welcome centers, urging residents to vacation inside the state and doing more to push the state parks.

Key indicators that gauge tourism - including occupancy, admissions tax revenue and the number of passengers flying into the state - all increased last year, continuing the post-recession trend of improvement that started in 2010, officials said Wednesday during the last day of the Governor's Conference on Tourism & Travel in Greenville.

In 2010, tourism had a $15 billion economic effect in South Carolina, up 7.6 percent from 2009.

"Certainly, the trend is going in the right direction," said Duane Parrish, director of the S.C. Parks, Recreation and Tourism department, which oversees and promotes the state's tourism. "South Carolina is bouncing back from the recession."

The rundown: Statewide, hotel occupancy was up 2.3 percent in 2011 over 2010, the number of passengers flying into the state was up 15.4 percent - with the largest increases in Greenville and Charleston, thanks to Southwest starting to serve those cities - and admissions tax collections were up 3 percent - including a surprising 5.9 percent increase in golf. With golf down nationally, officials weren't expecting golf to grow in South Carolina.

"This is significant for us," Parrish said, adding that South Carolina has more than 300 golf courses.

Parrish predicts the positive trends will continue this year, with overall growth in the industry between 5 percent and 6 percent. Like other businesses, it won't quite reach the pre-recession levels of 2007, but "we are headed in that direction," he said.

Climbing gas prices aren't much of a concern, because folks typically still travel even when gas prices increase, and South Carolina could benefit if travelers avoid the longer drive to Florida and stop in South Carolina instead, he said.

"It's the psychological impact," Parrish said.

Parrish outlined several strategies aiming to keep the industry moving in the right direction this year.

There's an emphasis on the 47 state parks - Parrish logged 13,000 miles visiting all of them in 2011 during his first year as PRT director, including the two along the Grand Strand.

PRT will produce a more detailed State Parks Visitors Guide instead of the usual one-page brochure so the parks aren't "the state's best-kept secret," Parrish said. He also plans to push to make the parks pay for themselves by 2012; they are at about 83 percent now. The state parks generate $49 million annually to the state's economy, and have become popular spots for not only connecting with nature, but for weddings, family reunions, fishing tournaments and other special events, Parrish said.

"We have to do a better job promoting them," he said.

Another area for improvement is with the state's nine welcome centers. PRT reopened the centers seven days a week last year - they were closed two days a week to save money - and this year they will get upgrades, most notably with technology. The centers will say goodbye to those bulky desks with an official on the other side. Instead, they will have iPad-like screens where travelers can research places to stay and other information, Parrish said.

The welcome center in Landrum will be the test, with officials trying things there this year and rolling out what works to the other centers, Parrish said. The centers have been behind the times; they just started offering WiFi last year, he said.

Getting South Carolinians to vacation within the state instead of going to North Carolina, Georgia or other states also is a 2012 goal. PRT has set aside 15 percent of its marketing budget for in-state promotions - mainly with print ads - aiming to keep the residents' vacation dollars here, Parrish said. You don't have to leave the Palmetto State to have a vacation, he said.

"I want that premise to go away," Parrish said.

The goal is to remind or teach residents what the state has to offer, he said.

"There are people who have lived here 50 years and don't know what's here," Parrish said.