The greater Myrtle Beach area continues to expand its tourism season, making its way onto lists proclaiming the region one of the best places to visit during the later months.
In September, Myrtle Beach was included as a top 10 spot for fall travel by TripAdvisor, and a roster of events like Conway Burger Week, the Irish-Italian International Festival in North Myrtle Beach, Loris’ annual Bog-Off and a mid-October jazz festival in Myrtle Beach help fill out a calendar well beyond typical tourism season.
Officials are also emphasizing the area’s culinary scene. Recently, the Cooking Channel aired “Chef Swap at the Beach,” a six-episode series that put rival chef in one another’s kitchens to work on themed menu items.
Karen Riordan, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau said the point was to showcase that Myrtle Beach is more than just a sand-and-golf paradise, and confirmed talks are under way for a second season.
“That will be a little intriguing to people who have a mindset about MB that is all about the beach and all about golf,” she said.
Taken together, Riordan said the accolades help draw from a wider pool of would-be visitors while reminding those living here that Myrtle Beach ain’t so bad after all.
“We know there’s always a lot of commenting about ‘we don’t like this and we don’t like that,’ and I’ve just come to learn that’s natural.
Everybody does that anywhere you live. You always want something a little bit better, a little bit faster, a little bit cheaper but when you actually peel it back and talk to a lot of people, they’ll be like, ‘yeah, it’s pretty awesome.’”
