PORTLAND, OREGON (April 29, 2024) – Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance was honored by Sports ETA as the 2024 Sports Tourism Organization of the Year, population under 500,000 category. The Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance was one of 10 awardees honored today among the 800 Sports ETA member organizations. The award was accepted by Jonathan Paris, Executive Director of Sports Tourism from Visit Myrtle Beach, on April 23 at the annual Sports ETA Symposium held this week in Portland, Oregon.
The Sports Tourism Organization of the Year award is presented to the sports tourism organization that can demonstrate its superior performance over multiple areas during the calendar year 2023. Several factors considered included the quality of sporting events supported by the organization based on community interest, size of events in relation to community size and the positive impact events on the community.
The award judges commented: “Last year, Myrtle Beach saw over 170,000 total room nights tracked through sport tourism events, over 150,000 athletes and 1.2 million spectators in sport tourism events, and $174 million in the City of Myrtle Beach Sports Tourism Direct spending.”
The Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance is made up of Visit Myrtle Beach; City of Myrtle Beach Parks, Recreation and Sports Tourism Department; the John T Rhodes Myrtle Beach Sports Center; Ripken Baseball Myrtle Beach; Myrtle Beach Convention Center; City of North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation; Horry County Parks and Recreation; and Horry County Schools.
Pictured above: Representatives of the Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance accept a 2024 Sports Tourism Organization of the Year award from Sports ETA during the organization’s annual symposium. Pictured L-R: Mark Beale, John T. Rhodes Myrtle Beach Sports Center; Jen Shaffer, City of Myrtle Beach; Jonathan Paris, Visit Myrtle Beach; Taylor Sellers, Visit Myrtle Beach; Tim Huber, City of Myrtle Beach; and John David, Sports ETA. Credit: Sports ETA.
“Congratulations to the team at Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance for being named Sports Tourism Organization of the year by Sports ETA,” said John David, President & CEO of Sports ETA. “The award honors organizations who are leading our sports events and tourism industry in collaborative and creative ways.”
“We could not be more excited and humbled by being named as the Sports ETA 2024 Sports Tourism Organization of the Year. We share this award with all our partners in the Myrtle Beach Regional Sports Alliance as we all play a critical role in the success of sports tourism along the Grand Strand. But also, we could not have reached this level of success without our great hospitality community. It’s truly a team win for Myrtle Beach,” said Jonathan Paris, Executive Director of Sports Tourism, Visit Myrtle Beach.
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About Sports ETA:
As the only trade association for the sports events and tourism industry, Sports ETA is the most trusted resource for sports commissions, destination marketing organizations (DMOs), and sports event owners. Sports ETA is committed to the success of more than 800 member organizations and 2,400 sports event professionals. We promise to deliver quality education, ample networking opportunities, and exceptional event management and marketing know-how to our members to protect the integrity of the sports events and tourism industry. For more information, visit SportsETA.org.