The fight is getting ugly and stands to get much worse, that’s the word from one local hotel owner about the debate concerning the May bike rallies.

Tropical storm Hanna is long gone and throughout eastern South Carolina, there was very little physical damage.

A recent Travel Industry Association report shows tourism reduces each Florence County household’s state and local taxes by about $945 a year, according to the Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau.

There’s new information about South Carolina’s involvement in a controversial ad campaign that targeted gay travelers in London. The campaign featured posters that said, “South Carolina is so gay”, and encouraged gay travelers to visit the state for its history, golf and “gay beaches”.

The sign outside the Aquarius motel reads: “Spend a night, Not a paycheck,“ but some Midwest travelers have canceled reservations and other visitors stay fewer nights. On the nation’s opposite coast, vacationers in Oregon worried about $4 gas splurge less on meals and skip the frills on getaways.

NAACP leaders said Monday they will step up their campaign against flying of the Confederate battle flag on state grounds in South Carolina.

With the uncertain economy, vacationers are making last minute plans instead of planning months ahead like in years past. Some local hoteliers want to make it easier for vacationers to come to Myrtle Beach, so, they’re paying part of their gasoline bill.

Coastal Carolina University released its tourism study Thursday.  It says from June 22nd to June 28th, occupancy rates averaged 78 percent.  That’s down 3 percent from the same time last year. 

Myrtle Beach is hosting Beachfest 2008 this weekend, with a number of extreme sports, free concerts, and guest speakers.

Finding an affordable flight is getting harder by the day.  Even as airlines continue to cut-back flights and employees, ticket prices keep going up. 

Known as Myrtle Beach’s family fun headquarters, Sands Resorts is a collection of six fun-filled oceanfront locations (Sand Dunes Resort Hotel, Ocean Dunes Resort & Villas, Sands Beach Club Resort, Sands Ocean Club Resort, Ocean Forest Plaza, and Ocean Forest Villas) that offer an incredible number of on-site activities and amenities.

Can’t afford tickets to Hard Rock Park? Neither can we. So while we’re waiting for that piggy bank to fill up, we decided to try out one of Myrtle Beach’s tried-and-true family amusements: Family Kingdom.
With the demise of The Pavilion making headlines all last year, coupled with the recent hype of Hard Rock Park, Family Kingdom seems to have gotten lost in the amusement park shuffle. Then, Trip Advisor sent out a surprising reminder when it named Family Kingdom the No. 5 fun spot on a list of the nation’s top parks (outside of Orlando). It even outranked regional favorite, Carowinds, and the nostalgically popular Coney Island Park.

With the summer travel season kicking into gear, airlines are raising prices on just about everything.

Perhaps the most-important number is four, that’s the total number of bikers who died on the Grand Strand. Three died during Harley week and one during Bike Fest.

A recent survey reported nearly 80 percent of Americans polled say they won’t travel farther than 1,000 miles from home for vacations this year.  They cite gas prices, higher airline costs and the down economy as why.