Things are heating up during the Winter at The Beach. Tripadvisor recently shared it’s “19 Trending Winter Destinations for U.S. Travelers” and Myrtle Beach made the list.

As Tripadvisor’s report shared, Myrtle Beach is most definitely becoming an increasingly popular destination to travel to during the winter.

According to our lodging metrics data, our occupancy levels have been pacing 10 to 15 points ahead of 2019 levels this winter and that trend is expected to continue for January and February.

During our holiday and winter season, we especially attract retirees from cooler regions like the Northeast, the Midwest and Canada who enjoy our mild climate and affordable offerings. While many continue to visit the Grand Strand to golf, others are bringing along the entire family to experience our year-round attractions like Ripley’s Aquarium.

We’re also a popular destination for groups who hold their meetings, conventions and sporting events here. In fact, this December, Coastal Carolina University will play host to the Myrtle Beach Bowl between Marshall and UConn and over the New Year, Dec. 29 through Jan. 1, Myrtle Beach will host the National College Cornhole Championship.

As the region’s official destination marketing organization, we promote the destination throughout the year and are deliberately putting more emphasis on turning the Grand Strand into a year-round destination. We’re focusing our marketing on the area’s attractions, restaurants, events and things to do. For example, as we showcased in The Cooking Channel series Chef Swap at The Beach, we’re promoting our extraordinary culinary scene that totals over 2,000 restaurants.

Our holiday season marketing efforts center around the idea that every family’s holiday tradition should include a trip to The Beach for what we call 'The Beachmas Season.' We let them know that they can take in the festive live shows, the holiday parades, the amazing cuisine, the plethora of indoor and outdoor activities, holiday shopping, and some of the best light shows on the East Coast, including Winter Wonderland at The Beach and Night of a Thousand Candles. You can do it all at The Beach!