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The Grand Strand
 

The Myrtle Beach area, also known as South Carolina's Grand Strand, is a 60-mile stretch of coastline. The Grand Strand begins at the South Carolina state line at Little River (in Horry County) and stretches south to Pawleys Island (inside Georgetown County).

Considered one of the nation's top vacation destinations, the Grand Strand hosts an estimated 13.5 million visitors annually. The increasing number of attractions, live music theaters, shopping centers, and golf courses attracts visitors throughout the year.

The Grand Strand has been visited by many regional, national, and international publica-tions and broadcasting companies. For xample, in 1999, Country Music Television (CMT) filmed two 60-minute episodes of Hit Trip, Ford Motor Company shot a regional commercial, and Home & Garden Television (HGTV) produced a half hour episode on vacation living in the area. Internationally, articles have appeared in American Journal of Germany, Leisure World of Canada, Long Haul Magazine and The Star of the United Kingdom, and ABroad Magazine of Japan.

In addition, the Myrtle Beach area   has received these positive national reviews:

  • Myrtle Beach was named the nation's Hottest Up-and-Coming Destination this year by the
    American Bus Association, a trade group representing motorcoach operators and tour companies.
    This is the fifth consecutive year that Myrtle Beach has finished No. 1 in that category. The ranking is based on a survey of more than 125 motorcoach operators.
  • According to a survey of AAA travel managers across the country, the Myrtle Beach area was named the second most popular travel destination for the summer of 1999.
  • The Myrtle Beach area was selected by the readers of Southern Living as their second favorite family vacation destination and their second favorite beach in 1999. The Grand Strand has been recognized each fall since the magazine began its annual Readers' Choice Awards four years ago.
  • Stan Plog Research Inc., a Los Angeles-based tourism research company, announced Myrtle Beach tied with Orlando, Fla., as the continent's number two vacation spot in 1998, behind California's Monterey Peninsula.
  • In April 1998, U.S. Housing Markets reported that Myrtle Beach was second in the nation for per capita housing construction for the last quarter of 1997 and the first quarter of 1998.
  • Myrtle Beach was named one of the nation's top vacation spots for retired Americans age 55 and older, according to a study by tourism researchers D.K. Shifflet & Associates.
  • In the past three years, both the Wall Street Journal and Money magazine have listed Myrtle Beach among the top spots in America for retirement.
  • D.K. Shifflet & Associates, a research and consulting firm in McLean, Virginia, announced a 1997 Top 10 list of destinations, ranking them on overall satisfaction and value with hotel/motel experience. The list is derived from their monthly Performance/Index study, a survey of over 500,000 U.S. households each year. In a recent study, Myrtle Beach achieved a number four ranking for visitor satisfaction and number two ranking for value.