Assignment 1: Director of the Tourism Bureau for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

HTM 540

Strayer University

The Myrtle Beach area is part of the Grand Strand, a collection on beaches in the South Carolina coast that is known for its great climate and beauty and array of activities for all ages and travel groups. According to the statistical abstract put together by the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, in 2011, there was an estimated 14.5 million visitors to the Myrtle Beach area. In 2010, 71, 393 visitors came from overseas, mostly from the UK. Canadian visitors make up about 840,000 annually. There are around 98,573 accommodations available in the area broken down into these types; 58% hotel/motel, 22% vacation rentals, 11% timeshare, and 9% campground. The summer months bring the majority of visitors with occupancy levels around 78.7% in hotel/condos alone. 2013 has seen a boost in numbers from 2011 with lower gas prices and more accessibility though air travel. Speaking or air travel, there are four airports that service the grand strand area. Grand Strand Airport, Conway-Horry Country Airport, Twin City-Loris Airport, and Myrtle Beach International. Myrtle Beach International has been undergoing renovations to serve more airlines and have more efficient passenger facilities. In 2011, there were 881,694 Arrivals and 878,180 Departures out of Myrtle Beach International alone. There are just about 474 different restaurants in the Myrtle Beach area alone. ranging from seafood to Italian, Ice cream to theme. Seafood and American cuisine ranking highest in number, 55 and 186 respectively. “The Myrtle Beach area is the nation’s busiest vacation destination without interstate access. I-73 will grow tourism, attract new industry, increase employment, and provide a much-needed alternative evacuation route.” (Tourism, 2013) Keeping up with the growing needs of an area are vital to the growth of the industry in that area. So many more tourists are traveling by vehicle, especially those with a short distance to travel. There is an issue of capacity with the major arteries that travel to Myrtle Beach. With expansions underway for US 501 to widen the road to an eight lane highway in hopes of making it keep the flow of traffic and be more useful in the event of a hurricane evacuation, civil engineers still say there is more that needs to be done. The bridges are another concern and they are met with, two that cross the international waterway, were built 50 years ago, for smaller vehicles, making it very narrow and not built for the amount of traffic that crosses it on a daily basis. As of now there are now plans to make any improvements.
The expansion on the east side of the airport of which I spoke of earlier, from the current seven gates to 13 gates is underway. The project requires a $118 million investment authorized by Horry County Council. The expansion will include new parking facilities, a separate car rental building, updates to the current passenger terminal and completion of Harrelson Boulevard. The expansion is expected to be complete in early 2013. Growing the airport facilities can make a draw to more airlines looking to expand routes to more of the favorable vacation spots, creating a greater influx not only to the tourism industry but to the general economy of the entire county.
Over the next ten years we can see a continued growth in the tourism industry in Myrtle Beach with the increase of local or domestic travel. In this industry specifically there has already been an initiative put in place called the Tourism Growth Initiative. This program has a very stable foundation in increasing market share. In the past most of the marketing focused on the drive in radius tourist. Over the years since the inception of the program, growth through the addition of new air travel into the area, focusing on first time visitors and delving more into the group market are have all proved successful so far. In order to continue this growth it is important to find better ways to get the people to the location. There was a serious boom in building in the 90’s that led to having more rooms than could be filled, driving prices down as the supply outweighed the demand. The key will be getting people here to fill those rooms. Competitive pricing from the hotels can only do so much. They must be afforded the best and most economical options to get here. Air travel is already improving with the terminal updates at Myrtle Beach International. At the moment the largest well known airlines that service MYR are Delta, US Air, and United. If we could lure the attention of some of the more popular low cost carriers like JetBlue or Southwest, this can open up more non local visitors that have always wanted to visit. With the updates being made already, a more modern airport can attract the more modern airline. Improving the road accessibility is also already in progress. This kind of initiative is not going to happen overnight. In 5 years, the airlines can see much development, bringing in the money through taxes and fees to help fund the future improvements of the roads. Proper planning and engineering and research is important to improve ground travel, which could see a significant increase over the next 10 years.
As far as the necessary workforce is concerned, Myrtle Beach has seen a lot of population growth in the past 10 years, with the increase of these folk the addition of new jobs would be a boom to the economy. Training would be important but in an industry like hospitality, most companies are quite prepared to ensure the workforce is properly trained. The increase in growth will also attract those just coming into the industry like college graduates looking to get their hospitality experience in a place with a lot of potential. In the current economy, where there is a need to a workforce, people will flock.

References Bryant, Dawn. (2013, January 26). Tourism looking up in south carolina, myrtle beach area. Retrieved from http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/01/26/3293760/tourism-looking-up-in-south-carolina.html Dickerson, B. (2013, January 15). Horry county officials, american civil engineers, want to see more done with infrastructure. Retrieved from http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/01/15/3275074/horry-county-infrastructure-not.html
Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. (2013) http://www.myrtlebeachareachamber.com Statistical Abstract for the Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.myrtlebeachareachamber.com/research/docs/22statabstract.pdf
Trip Advisor. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g54359-Myrtle_Beach_South_Carolina.html Tourism Works for Us (2013) Retrieved from http://www.tourismworksforus.com/tgi_about.html#infrastructure