MYRTLE BEACH SHOWS TORONTO SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

Wednesday, 10 October 2012

MYRTLE BEACH SHOWS TORONTO SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

Media reception boasts new developments and cuisine from chef Curry Martin

Jovana Arnaut

Kimberly Hartley, Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau; Curry Martin, chef; Kimberly Miles, public relations representative, Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau and Brad Cicero, manager, communications and public affairs, Porter Airlines

Travel media spent last night on top of Toronto’s Thompson Hotel.

Myrtle Beach hosted a reception at the hotel’s rooftop lounge to promote the destination’s newest tourist attractions and feature Carolina Coastal cuisine. Curry Martin was the guest chef for the night, serving up authentic seafood specialities.

“We’re in Toronto to say hello to our friends in the North, as well as to highlight the fact that we have service on Porter Airlines direct from Toronto to Myrtle Beach in the fall and the spring months,” Kimberly Miles, public relations representative, Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau told TRAVELHotNews.com.

“We are [also] highlighting our amazing Carolina Coastal cuisine,” Miles added. “[We brought] a chef with us direct from Myrtle Beach: Curry Martin... everything that is being served this evening [is his creation].”

Guests also walked away with a cookbook that includes some of Martin’s recipes.

Similarly to other destinations in the U.S., Miles said that Myrtle Beach sees a lot of visitors from Canada - it is the destination’s top international market.

Miles also explained that aside from going to the beach and golfing, Myrtle Beach has other attractions to offer.

“We recently launched a campaign called 60 Miles In 60 Days," she said. The campaign promotes the area's "60 best-kept secrets."

Kimberly Miles, public relations representative, Myrtle Beach Area Convention & Visitors Bureau

"We wanted to play off the 60 miles of coastline in the Myrtle Beach area but we also wanted to highlight the lesser known things,” Miles said. “Some of the secrets that we’re trying to highlight for example are paddle board yoga, [experiencing] the native culture in the area, and [the cuisine].”

Miles said that the campaign will continue into next year.

She also elaborated on the developments the area has seen in recent years. For example, the downtown core has revamped its boardwalk and introduced new shops and restaurants; and the airport is undergoing a multi-million dollar expansion project which will include a new passenger terminal and new gates, further expanding its service to airlines such as Porter.

Until Nov. 25, Porter's fall schedule to Myrtle Beach will operate two weekly flights on Thursday and Sunday. The winter service will run from Feb. 14 to May 20, 2013. Up to five weekly flights will be operated during the peak time from Mar. 4 to April 28.

All flights with Porter to Myrtle Beach are direct.

“We’re getting ready, before the end of 2012, to launch our package division which is called Porter Escapes,” said Brad Cicero, manager, communications and public affairs, Porter Airlines. “That pairs perfectly with a destination like Myrtle Beach where we can eventually roll in things like golf, and hotel stays and car rentals so that it’s one stop shopping and [travellers] can get everything that [they] need through Porter.”

“We’re going to be treating it differently than a typical all-inclusive package,” he added. “It will be [customized and all] of the properties and all of the excursions will be something that we’ve tried ourselves and that we’ve tested.”

For more information on Myrtle Beach and its attractions, go to visitmyrtlebeach.com.

For more information on Porter’s flights to the destination and other updates, visit flyporter.com.

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