Myrtle Beach doubles down on 65-year Canadian relationship
While Visit Myrtle Beach’s Diane Charno admits that it is a challenging time due to the trade tensions between Canada and the U.S., she also makes it clear that “we’ve been welcoming Canadians to Myrtle Beach for more than 65 years,” and because of that long-standing relationship, “we want to show up.”
Charno, EVP Marketing & Communications, and a delegation from Visit Myrtle Beach did just that recently, hosting several travel trade events in Canada, and telling Travel Courier that while these may be challenging times: “We’re ramping up for, hopefully, a good year next year and we want to be here to show support to the [Canadian] travel trade [because] we know this has been challenging for them too. We’re ready to assist [them] and we want Canadians, in general, to know that they’re always welcome to Myrtle Beach.”
In fact, when it comes to welcoming Canadians, Myrtle Beach has been doing that for 65 years now with its annual Can-Am Days (Canadian-American Days) celebrations which take place every March during the Canadian spring break period.
2027 marks the 66th annual Can-Am Days celebration and it will take place from March 15 to March 21, 2027, offering a wide range of special events, activations and, naturally, some great offers from Visit Myrtle Beach’s partners designed specifically for Canadian visitors.
Along with the special offers and the must-attend opening reception at the Visitors Centre that kicks off the week, the 2027 celebration happens at the same time as St. Patrick’s Day – which is a big deal, particularly in North Myrtle Beach which has a huge parade – and also at the same time as the 38th annual Run to the Sun Car and Truck Show (March 18 & 19) – and those are just a couple of things that visitors can enjoy during Can-Am Days 2027.
As Visit Myrtle Beach gears up for 2027, Charno observed that overall business for Myrtle Beach has been “pretty good.”
“We actually were forecasting things to be down year over year globally for all visitations, but we were pleased that we’ve been beating [our] forecast,” Charno said. “The economy has been challenging for everyone and so, we were really happy that even given all that, we were Number 1 on TripAdvisor’s Hot Summer Index. We’re Number 1 in the U.S. for Trending Destinations for domestic visitors in general – that’s a first because usually we were [the] Number 1 Beach, but we weren’t usually beating out New York, Orlando and Vegas. And for Summer [2026] we were more popular than those [three destinations] in terms of people searching and looking for places where they wanted to vacation.”
Said Charno: “So, we know the interest is there. Where it gets challenging is economically people are booking shorter trips. They’re finding unique ways to save money. So, one of the things we did this year was create a destination-wide Make More Myrtle Moments offer which allowed people to get more value out of their vacations when they book three [nights], they get one night free; when they book five, they get two free.”
The Make More Myrtle Moments initiative has worked well, with Charno explaining that: “People are looking for more value. They’re investing in vacations. It’s still important, even if we know that travel has gotten more expensive, they [consumers] want to get creative in finding great ways to save and Myrtle Beach has always been a great value and we’re finding more ways for people to get more out of their vacation experience.”
She pointed out along with the deals offered during Can-Am Days, many Myrtle Beach hotels also offer year-round specials for Canadians.
As for the numbers, Charno said that overall, business is down about 2%, but that varies from month to month. From Canada, she said that up until March 2026, it was down about 30%, but “now things are evening out year over year. That’s still down if we go back a couple of years, but we’re happy to see that things are starting to improve and what looks like a rebound to us,” and in fact, she noted that July “was actually up.”
And while there are still a lot of headwinds, Visit Myrtle Beach’s Denielle Van Dyke points to the long-standing relationship between Canadians and Myrtle Beach.
“The great thing about our area is that it’s such a family tradition for so many who have been going for years. It’s multi-generational. They know our area. There’s that connection,” Van Dyke said. “I mean one of my favourite things about our area is how hospitable we are. It’s a very friendly place. We’re very welcoming.”
Charno agreed, telling TC that: “We love the fact that it has been truly a tradition. It’s kind of why we’ve leaned into this Make More Myrtle Moments for our campaign – to tap into some of the nostalgia and the memories people make.”
And she pointed out that: “Many of our Canadians have been visiting every year — year after year — especially the Snowbirds. And they come to an area where they’re meeting up with some of the same Canadians that visit at the same time every year. Often, the small business owners know the families by name. And we just want people to know that they’re welcome whenever they’re ready to come back. They’re going to get the same Southern Hospitality and warm welcome that they always have [received] and feel safe.”
As for some tips for travel advisors, Charno is quick to point out that Myrtle Beach offers visitors more for their money.
“There are a lot of beach destinations, but what you’ve got is 60 miles of beaches and a diversity of things to do beyond the beach that’s going to please everyone in your group,” Charno said.
And she explained that along with the beach, Myrtle Beach offers its visitors “a diversity of things to do” and one of those is golf – lots and lots of golf considering that the area has over 80 golf courses today.
“When you have a golf lover in your family — and sometimes more than one – Myrtle Beach is the golf capital of the world,” Charno said, noting that it has more golf courses per capita than any other destination in the world.” Plus, it’s also the mini golf capital of the world.
In 2027, Myrtle Beach will be celebrating the Centennial of its first golf course – the Pine Lakes Golf & Country Club – that marked the beginning of making resort destination golf big and making Myrtle Beach, the golf capital of the world, Charno said.
Van Dyke also makes the point that Myrtle Beach is “a year-round destination. There’s so much to do that will keep you outdoors.”
Canadian travel professionals can also expect strong support from Visit Myrtle Beach which has been investing in the Canadian market for over 65 years. Its team here regularly conducts webinars, educational programs, lunch & learn sessions and more for the trade. It offers educational and marketing support in both English and French.
All of that certainly reinforces what Charno was telling the trade here: “We’re showing up. We’re still investing. We know this has been hard on travel advisors too as a major product that they’ve been supporting for many years and so, we want to be there to support them in any way we can and to show that we’re ready to welcome [Canadians/their clients] whenever they’re ready.”
