Myrtle Beach tourism appears unaffected by gas prices

High occupancy

“No vacancy” notices appeared across hotel signs Sunday along Ocean Boulevard in the midst of the summer’s big travel-vacation weekend, and there was little vacant space on the streets or beach, either.

For some locals, the full hotels and crowded shops meant that holiday tourism expectations already had been met; others were waiting to see what the coming week brings.

Business this holiday weekend has been “extremely good” at the Blue Bay Resort, reservations manager David Ham said. Tourists started coming in Thursday, he said, and by Sunday the hotel was almost filled.

“The rest of the week, I anticipate full capacity through Wednesday,” Ham said. “The season is kicking in quite well now.”

The Grand Strand was expected to draw more than 250,000 tourists for the holiday, according to Gary Loftus, director of Coastal Carolina University’s Center for Economic and Community Development.

Rising gas prices

Rising gas prices could be a factor in how much money tourists have to spend, he said. Gas prices are averaging at $2.86 a gallon, which is 65 cents higher than a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association.

But summer tourism is still going strong in spite of high gas prices, according to Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Billie-Sue Davidson would not forgo her drive to Myrtle Beach from Winston-Salem just because of gas prices. She has, after all, been coming to Myrtle Beach since she was 6 months old, she said.

“This is our week. We always come for the Fourth,” Davidson said. “We didn’t want to pay (high gas prices),” she said, but “we’re not going to give up our vacation for it.”

Source: Jessica Foster, Sun News, Myrtle Beach
with Staff Writers Dawn Bryant and Emma Ritch.