Post by bikergal on Mar 4, 2010 8:37:55 GMT -6
Wow, does this make me sick.
Following on the heels of the inaugural Porter Airlines flight from Toronto, about 30 Grand Strand business leaders will fly to Canada today to attend a series of tourism events, with some continuing to London and Berlin.
The group, led by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, will attend a summit with Porter officials and representatives of major Ontario tourism organizations, said Kimberly Miles, the chamber's public relations manager.
Myrtle Beach area leaders to talk business in Toronto
Following on the heels of the inaugural Porter Airlines flight from Toronto, about 30 Grand Strand business leaders will fly to Canada on Thursday to attend a series of tourism events, with some continuing to London and Berlin.
The group, led by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, will attend a summit with Porter officials and representatives of major Ontario tourism organizations, said Kimberly Miles of the chamber. Other events include a breakfast at the US Consulate and the Toronto Star Golf & Travel Show. The junket will end on the U.S.-side of Niagra Falls, and the group will return on a Direct Air flight Saturday.
“There’s a lot of local business officials that haven’t had the opportunity to meet these folks,” Miles said. “It’s a great opportunity to sit side-by-side and capitalize on the fact that we have this new direct service from Porter and the access of Direct Air.”
•New airline services give Myrtle Beach area a lift
New airline services give Myrtle Beach area a lift
This morning, passengers will step off a plane in Myrtle Beach after the first nonstop flight from Toronto, turning what would have been an out-of-the-question 17- to 19-hour drive to the Grand Strand into a doable, two-hour trip in the air.
It's the latest strategy officials are using to lift the $5.8 billion local tourism industry, and it's not just for Canadians. The Toronto flight caps a week dominated by new air service announcements - news of three new flights in as many days - and helps usher in a new era of air service to Myrtle Beach. By making it easier for folks to get here, officials anticipate the flights will immediately translate into more tourists on the beach and golfers on the Grand Strand's greens - many of them first-time visitors.
"It's going to be a blockbuster year for Myrtle Beach," said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant who worked with officials in Myrtle Beach to lure the new air service. "This summer - well, you better have your reservations."
Toronto Market Initiative
M yrtle and Leonard Klinck are back in Myrtle Beach for a month from their home in the Canadian province of Ontario, but this year they flew on Porter Airlines' new Toronto-Myrtle Beach flight. The Klincks have been driving to Myrtle Beach for 20 years and were happy to be able to cut their travel time to just under two hours. This year their children are driving. Other passengers on the first flight also were pleased, and area tourism officials hope the Porter flights will help grow the number of Canadian visitors to the Grand Strand.
Sunday's arrival was the first of Porter's seasonal twice-weekly (Sundays and Thursdays) trips between Toronto and Myrtle Beach. The Toronto-Myrtle Beach service is scheduled through May 30.
Another arrival on Sunday was Mike Currie, with a few golfer friends. He says he and his family have been coming here for years, and now, with the Porter flights, he can increase his visits. "Now we can come down for golf three or four times a year," he says. The drive is about 18 hours
•Myrtle Beach rolls out welcome mat for Can-Am festival
Myrtle Beach rolls out welcome mat for Can-Am festival
What started out as a bid to attract Canadian customers has evolved into a jam-packed festival capped by a bona fide diplomatic and economic summit.
And with the exchange rate where it is - the U.S. dollar has been hanging close to parity with the Canadian dollar for the first time in more than three decades - business leaders say now is the time to seal deals and make the most of the annual Canadian-American Days festival, which starts Saturday.
"A falling dollar makes an investment in the United States more attractive," said Hugh Owens, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp.
•Myrtle Beach welcomes airline's brand-new Toronto flight (with video)
Myrtle Beach welcomes airline's brand-new Toronto flight (with video)
Over in the far corner of the Myrtle Beach International Airport, behind a partitioned wall, a group of passengers arrived Sunday. Friends, family and local media were waiting for them to emerge from behind a set of double doors that lead to the international customs area.
But they weren't rock stars. They were a group of Canadian visitors, the first to take Porter Airlines' new Toronto-Myrtle Beach direct flight - a flight that area officials hope will open up a whole new market.
"There's a lot of local business officials that haven't had the opportunity to meet these folks," Miles said. "It's a great opportunity to sit side-by-side and capitalize on the fact that we have this new direct service from Porter and the access of Direct Air."
On Sunday, Porter Airlines started nonstop flights between Toronto and Myrtle Beach. Direct Air, which is based in Myrtle Beach, flies to Niagara Falls, N.Y.
In addition to further promoting tourism among Canadian snowbirds, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes wants to influence Porter to continue flying to Myrtle Beach in the fall, he said. The flights are scheduled to end May 30 and may start again in the fall.
"You either step back and watch the world go by, or you jump out ... and try to help the tourism industry in this town," Rhodes said.
Other events include a breakfast at the U.S. Consulate and the Toronto Star Golf & Travel Show. The junket will end on the U.S.-side of Niagara Falls, and the group will return on a Direct Air flight Saturday. Among the officials going on the trip: Reps. Thad Viers and Liston Barfield, Horry County Auditor Lois Eargle and council members from Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Atlantic Beach.
A smaller delegation will continue to Europe on Saturday. That group is composed of Rhodes, Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland and Chamber of Commerce Chairman Brant Branham, with Convention and Visitor Bureau Director of Group Sales Danna Lilly meeting them in London.
The group will promote Grand Strand Golf to tour operators while in London, Rhodes said.
In Germany, they will attend the ITB Berlin Conference, a yearly meeting of travel industry leaders. Rhodes will promote the Grand Strand at a booth shared with the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
The chamber regularly sends representatives to ITB, last attending in 2008.
"Europe is a trip that we're looking for the return on the investment, but it takes some time to get the return," Rhodes said.
The trips are focusing on areas where the Grand Strand and South Carolina are already heavily invested, said Brad Dean, president of the chamber.
"The Grand Strand has marketed itself for decades in Ontario. ... It's our largest investment in Canada ever," he said. "As it goes with European markets, the key areas of opportunity are the U.K., Ireland and Germany. That's where the state agency has invested most of its resources."
The state-level department has participated in ITB since the mid-1980s or earlier, PRT spokesman Marion Edmonds said. Although less than 5 percent of visitors to South Carolina come from other countries, they tend to stay longer and spend more money, he said.
"One thing that's a little different in international visitors is because of the scale of the trip, because of the complications of the trip, things like language and cultural differences, it's much more common for international visitors into South Carolina to be using some sort of tour organization," Edmonds said. "We work with the travel industry in places like the U.K. and places like Germany and Canada to spread the word about South Carolina to get in their tour catalogs."
Meeting directly with tour operators is also easier for destinations such as the Grand Strand, which may not have the money to advertise directly to consumers, he said.
The group will return after the convention ends March 12.
The chamber will spend $65,000 for the trips, Dean said. The chamber's tourism marketing budget for 2010 is $20 million.
Following on the heels of the inaugural Porter Airlines flight from Toronto, about 30 Grand Strand business leaders will fly to Canada today to attend a series of tourism events, with some continuing to London and Berlin.
The group, led by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, will attend a summit with Porter officials and representatives of major Ontario tourism organizations, said Kimberly Miles, the chamber's public relations manager.
Myrtle Beach area leaders to talk business in Toronto
Following on the heels of the inaugural Porter Airlines flight from Toronto, about 30 Grand Strand business leaders will fly to Canada on Thursday to attend a series of tourism events, with some continuing to London and Berlin.
The group, led by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, will attend a summit with Porter officials and representatives of major Ontario tourism organizations, said Kimberly Miles of the chamber. Other events include a breakfast at the US Consulate and the Toronto Star Golf & Travel Show. The junket will end on the U.S.-side of Niagra Falls, and the group will return on a Direct Air flight Saturday.
“There’s a lot of local business officials that haven’t had the opportunity to meet these folks,” Miles said. “It’s a great opportunity to sit side-by-side and capitalize on the fact that we have this new direct service from Porter and the access of Direct Air.”
•New airline services give Myrtle Beach area a lift
New airline services give Myrtle Beach area a lift
This morning, passengers will step off a plane in Myrtle Beach after the first nonstop flight from Toronto, turning what would have been an out-of-the-question 17- to 19-hour drive to the Grand Strand into a doable, two-hour trip in the air.
It's the latest strategy officials are using to lift the $5.8 billion local tourism industry, and it's not just for Canadians. The Toronto flight caps a week dominated by new air service announcements - news of three new flights in as many days - and helps usher in a new era of air service to Myrtle Beach. By making it easier for folks to get here, officials anticipate the flights will immediately translate into more tourists on the beach and golfers on the Grand Strand's greens - many of them first-time visitors.
"It's going to be a blockbuster year for Myrtle Beach," said Mike Boyd, an aviation consultant who worked with officials in Myrtle Beach to lure the new air service. "This summer - well, you better have your reservations."
Toronto Market Initiative
M yrtle and Leonard Klinck are back in Myrtle Beach for a month from their home in the Canadian province of Ontario, but this year they flew on Porter Airlines' new Toronto-Myrtle Beach flight. The Klincks have been driving to Myrtle Beach for 20 years and were happy to be able to cut their travel time to just under two hours. This year their children are driving. Other passengers on the first flight also were pleased, and area tourism officials hope the Porter flights will help grow the number of Canadian visitors to the Grand Strand.
Sunday's arrival was the first of Porter's seasonal twice-weekly (Sundays and Thursdays) trips between Toronto and Myrtle Beach. The Toronto-Myrtle Beach service is scheduled through May 30.
Another arrival on Sunday was Mike Currie, with a few golfer friends. He says he and his family have been coming here for years, and now, with the Porter flights, he can increase his visits. "Now we can come down for golf three or four times a year," he says. The drive is about 18 hours
•Myrtle Beach rolls out welcome mat for Can-Am festival
Myrtle Beach rolls out welcome mat for Can-Am festival
What started out as a bid to attract Canadian customers has evolved into a jam-packed festival capped by a bona fide diplomatic and economic summit.
And with the exchange rate where it is - the U.S. dollar has been hanging close to parity with the Canadian dollar for the first time in more than three decades - business leaders say now is the time to seal deals and make the most of the annual Canadian-American Days festival, which starts Saturday.
"A falling dollar makes an investment in the United States more attractive," said Hugh Owens, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corp.
•Myrtle Beach welcomes airline's brand-new Toronto flight (with video)
Myrtle Beach welcomes airline's brand-new Toronto flight (with video)
Over in the far corner of the Myrtle Beach International Airport, behind a partitioned wall, a group of passengers arrived Sunday. Friends, family and local media were waiting for them to emerge from behind a set of double doors that lead to the international customs area.
But they weren't rock stars. They were a group of Canadian visitors, the first to take Porter Airlines' new Toronto-Myrtle Beach direct flight - a flight that area officials hope will open up a whole new market.
"There's a lot of local business officials that haven't had the opportunity to meet these folks," Miles said. "It's a great opportunity to sit side-by-side and capitalize on the fact that we have this new direct service from Porter and the access of Direct Air."
On Sunday, Porter Airlines started nonstop flights between Toronto and Myrtle Beach. Direct Air, which is based in Myrtle Beach, flies to Niagara Falls, N.Y.
In addition to further promoting tourism among Canadian snowbirds, Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes wants to influence Porter to continue flying to Myrtle Beach in the fall, he said. The flights are scheduled to end May 30 and may start again in the fall.
"You either step back and watch the world go by, or you jump out ... and try to help the tourism industry in this town," Rhodes said.
Other events include a breakfast at the U.S. Consulate and the Toronto Star Golf & Travel Show. The junket will end on the U.S.-side of Niagara Falls, and the group will return on a Direct Air flight Saturday. Among the officials going on the trip: Reps. Thad Viers and Liston Barfield, Horry County Auditor Lois Eargle and council members from Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Atlantic Beach.
A smaller delegation will continue to Europe on Saturday. That group is composed of Rhodes, Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland and Chamber of Commerce Chairman Brant Branham, with Convention and Visitor Bureau Director of Group Sales Danna Lilly meeting them in London.
The group will promote Grand Strand Golf to tour operators while in London, Rhodes said.
In Germany, they will attend the ITB Berlin Conference, a yearly meeting of travel industry leaders. Rhodes will promote the Grand Strand at a booth shared with the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism.
The chamber regularly sends representatives to ITB, last attending in 2008.
"Europe is a trip that we're looking for the return on the investment, but it takes some time to get the return," Rhodes said.
The trips are focusing on areas where the Grand Strand and South Carolina are already heavily invested, said Brad Dean, president of the chamber.
"The Grand Strand has marketed itself for decades in Ontario. ... It's our largest investment in Canada ever," he said. "As it goes with European markets, the key areas of opportunity are the U.K., Ireland and Germany. That's where the state agency has invested most of its resources."
The state-level department has participated in ITB since the mid-1980s or earlier, PRT spokesman Marion Edmonds said. Although less than 5 percent of visitors to South Carolina come from other countries, they tend to stay longer and spend more money, he said.
"One thing that's a little different in international visitors is because of the scale of the trip, because of the complications of the trip, things like language and cultural differences, it's much more common for international visitors into South Carolina to be using some sort of tour organization," Edmonds said. "We work with the travel industry in places like the U.K. and places like Germany and Canada to spread the word about South Carolina to get in their tour catalogs."
Meeting directly with tour operators is also easier for destinations such as the Grand Strand, which may not have the money to advertise directly to consumers, he said.
The group will return after the convention ends March 12.
The chamber will spend $65,000 for the trips, Dean said. The chamber's tourism marketing budget for 2010 is $20 million.