Amusement mecca Myrtle Beach, S.C., offers deep discounts

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- When times were flush, the mom-and-pop motels, condos and vacation rentals strung along a 60-mile stretch of Atlantic coast dubbed the Grand Strand would deliver the same message to footloose August travelers: "Sorry, No Vacancy."

This summer, a sign at Myrtle Beach's Sea Hawk motel reflects a new reality: "We Appreciate And Need Your Business."

And, for the most part, tourist-dependent establishments in one of the South's most popular bargain beach and golf destinations are getting it.

Sure, they've had to slash room rates, boost free concerts and golf rounds, and offer more coupon specials. Yes, cost-conscious vacationers are subbing all-you-can-eat seafood buffets for groceries from Piggly Wiggly, or cutting their stays from one or two weeks to a long weekend. What's more, many Myrtle Beach merchants are still grousing about lost sales after the city voted to crack down on the hundreds of thousands of bikers who roar through on rallies each May.

But the combination of this year's cheaper gas (at least 90% of the area's 14 to 15 million annual visitors drive to get here) and plentiful discounts appears to be paying off. Myrtle Beach had its busiest Fourth of July weekend in four years and hopes for a strong Labor Day and fall golf season as well, despite a 1% increase in the city sales tax that will go toward increased tourism promotion.

At the oceanfront Myrtle Beach State Park, campsites ($29.80-$33.16 a day) are sold out every weekend, and visitor numbers are up considerably from last year. "People tell me they're giving the kids a choice: 'Do you want to stay in a motel and eat out for two days, or camp for a week and cook our own hot dogs?' " says entrance gate staffer Gina Daniels. "It's an easy decision."

ABC commentator Cokie Roberts famously chastized then-candididate Barack Obama for vacationing in "foreign, exotic" Hawaii instead of Myrtle Beach last year, and the Grand Strand's centerpiece is famous for garish billboards, pancake parlors and beachwear emporiums touting 79-cent shark tooth necklaces, free hermit crabs and NOTHING OVER $5.99 (fine print: "special sections only").