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The Travel Channel named Myrtle Beach one of America's Best Beaches for 2003-2004. Earning 18 out of a possible 20 stars, Myrtle Beach was singled out as the Best Family Beach. A review on The Travel Channel's Web site, discovery.com, states, "Myrtle Beach is the East Coast's ultimate vacation hub." Along with the other winners, the Myrtle Beach area is being showcased throughout the year on The Travel Channel's America's Best Beaches program and on the Web site.
Myrtle Beach beat out exotic locales such as Waikiki and St. Thomas in a recent online pole of favorite beaches conducted by Yahoo! Travel and National Geographic Traveler magazine. The survey of more than 2,200 travelers ranked Myrtle Beach No. 2 of a list of Top 10 Beaches. Results of the survey and video highlights are posted on Yahoo!'s Web site and were published in National Geographic Traveler. The qualities most important to beachgoers were cleanliness, scenery, climate, water temperature, and romance, in that order.
The Travel Channel bestowed an additional honor on the Myrtle Beach area in March 2004, placing our oceanfront boardwalk at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion on the list of Best American Boardwalks. A program by the same name is being broadcast on The Travel Channel, and the list also appears on the Web at discovery.com.
A Hotels.com has announced that the Myrtle Beach area is No. 1 on its list of most popular vacation rental destinations for the 2004 summer season, according to customer booking preferences. The company books hotels, condos, villas and bed-and-breakfast inns worldwide. Trailing Myrtle Beach are Orlando; New York City; Panama City, Fla.; Ocean City, Md.; Virginia Beach; Las Vegas; Miami; Gulf Shores, Ala.; and Destin, Fla.
The Myrtle Beach area has long been called "the seaside golf capital of the world." Now there's an exciting new moniker, Sportstown USA, thanks to Sports Illustrated magazine and the National Recreation and Park Association. To mark its 50th anniversary in 2004, the magazine is selecting one city from each state for the Sportstown designation. According to SI, Myrtle Beach was chosen because its leaders recognize that sports are an enormous force for good in the community. The area's large number of parks and recreation facilities and 120-plus golf courses also were factors. Sports Illustrated got its start in Myrtle Beach in 1954, when parent company Time Inc. met at Pine Lakes International Country Club and announced plans to launch the magazine.
For the second consecutive year, the Myrtle Beach area is among the five most popular destinations for vacationers traveling by car, according to AAA. The other top destinations for 2004: Orlando; Anaheim, Calif. (Disneyland); Las Vegas; and Washington, D.C.
The Grand Strand is one of the nation's Top 10 places for investing in second homes, according to EscapeHomes.com, an online listing service for second homes, timeshares, and other vacation property. "Myrtle Beach consistently winds up in various listings of the nation's best beaches and best retirement towns." EscapeHomes states.
Restaurant Business magazine recently ranked the Myrtle Beach area No. 1 in the United States for growth potential for the fourth consecutive year. The magazine rates the nation's top restaurant markets based on overall sales, sales as a percentage of income, and local per-capita sales.
For the second year in a row, the Myrtle Beach area was voted Most Family-Friendly Vacation Destination in South Carolina by readers of Palmetto Parent magazine. Winners of the 2004 Palmetto Parent Family Choice Awards were published in the June/July 2004 issue of the magazine.
Where to Retire magazine named the Myrtle Beach area one of the 100 Best Retirement Towns in America. Editors traveled to all 50 states to compile the list. The magazine cites the Myrtle Beach area for its low cost of living and calls it one of the best beach towns in the nation.
The Toronto Sun presented the Myrtle Beach area with the 2004 Golfers' Choice Silver Award in the category of Best Travel Destination. Winners were selected by readers of the 200,000-circulation (400,000 on Sunday) Canadian newspaper.
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In a survey conducted at the 2004 American Bus Association Marketplace, the Myrtle Beach area is the third-best U.S. City With the Best Value for Money Spent. The annual survey polls motorcoach and group tour operators, and results are published in the ABA's Destinations magazine.
The Myrtle Beach area ranked No. 4 on a list of 50 of the most popular motorcoach destinations of the decade in Byways magazine. The publication is produced for the National Motorcoach Network, a marketing group of more than 2,000 motorcoach tour operators. Others in the top five were Branson, Mo. (1); Washington, D.C. (2); Nashville, Tenn. (3); and New York City (5).
The Myrtle Beach area is listed among the top five golf values in the United States in the November 2002 edition of Money magazine. "It's almost impossible not to get great golf for your money," the magazine states.
The Myrtle Beach area has again been named a favorite travel destination by readers of Southern Living magazine. In its fifth annual Readers' Choice Awards, the area was named the South's second favorite beach and third most popular family destination. The area was selected from 63 travel destinations, with some 18,000 ballots cast in the survey. In addition, the Sea Captain's House was second favorite seafood restaurant, and Brookgreen Gardens was second favorite public garden.
The Myrtle Beach area 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. The company also ranked the Myrtle Beach area No. 5 in the nation for leisure destinations.
The International Association of Golf Tour Operators named the Myrtle Beach area the established golf destination of the year for 2000, and in subsequent years the area has remained in the top 10. Destinations are rated on customer satisfaction, support from suppliers and airlines, quality of golf courses and accommodations, and access to tee times. IAGTO, recognized as the global trade association for golf tourism, has nearly 700 members in 59 countries.
Forbes magazine ranks the Myrtle Beach area the 29th best place for business and careers among 200 U.S. metropolitan statistical areas. Forbes editors based their decisions on "degree of change (in local economies) rather than simply the base level of activity." The Southeast region takes 7.3 percent of venture capital money invested in the U.S., ranking it third behind Silicon Valley and New England.
The Web site EscapeHomes.com, which lists information about vacation homes, placed the Myrtle Beach area fourth on its list of top golf towns.
Myrtle Beach is No. 9 on Golf Digest's list of the 50 Greatest Golf Destinations in the World. The list resulted from a survey of more than 700 low-handicap American golfers.
In his book The Great Towns of America: A Guide to the 100 Best Getaways for a Vacation or a Lifetime, author David Vokac lists Myrtle Beach as one of the 100 most outstanding communities in the country.
In April 1995, American Demographics ranked Myrtle Beach as the second fastest growing metro area in both projected annual population growth and projected employment growth from 1995-2005.
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