For many Canadians, Myrtle Beach brings back memories of family road trips and vacations shared across generations. For our local businesses, those returning visitors are an important part of the tourism economy. Canada is Myrtle Beach’s largest international visitor market, and Canadian travelers typically stay around 10 days, which gives them more time to dine, shop, play golf and explore communities throughout the Grand Strand.
To keep those connections strong and give Canadians fresh reasons to return, Visit Myrtle Beach recently traveled to Toronto, Burlington and Ottawa for a media and travel trade mission. Diane Charno, Bob Harris, Lori Lampo and Denielle Van Dyke joined Annika Klint, Rebecca Seeds and Sana Keller of Pulse Travel Marketing, our Canadian agency team, to connect with over 73 journalists, editors, travel advisors and group tour planners.
Through individual meetings, destination training sessions and evening receptions, the team shared updates on accommodations, attractions, our growing culinary scene and upcoming celebrations, including 100 years of Myrtle Beach golf and Can-Am Days in 2027. The goal was to give journalists fresh stories to tell and travel partners more reasons to recommend Myrtle Beach to their clients.
The stories started appearing before the team even returned home. Travelweek, PAX News, Open Jaw and Travel Courier covered the visit, highlighting vacation value, new experiences and the Grand Strand Chef’s Table event. After only 2 weeks, the Canadian team reported more than one million impressions across tracked media coverage and social activity, getting the stories and conversations out to more than just those who were in the room.
Just as valuable was hearing what Canadian travelers are looking for in their next vacation. Those conversations help our team connect their interests with experiences across the Grand Strand, while reminding partners of favorite experiences and the warm hospitality that keeps visitors coming back.
Our team is continuing to follow up on story ideas, potential media visits and partnership opportunities generated during the trip. That ongoing work creates more opportunities to bring local businesses into the conversation and give Canadians a fresh reason to return.