An expansive new state farmers market near Columbia, boardwalk in the heart of Myrtle Beach and year-round cruise ships in Charleston are among the headlines for the year past and year ahead in new developments in South Carolina travel and tourism. Here’s a rundown of 2009 and 2010 happenings from around the state: In 2010, the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce and Visitor and Convention Bureau will move their Visitor Center and staff operations into the historic Arsenal building in the National Register Historic District in downtown Beaufort. A new website and branding campaign also are planned. The City Loft Hotel has opened as Beaufort’s first upscale boutique hotel. The 23-room facility is on Carteret Street close to the historic sites, shops and restaurants of downtown Beaufort. High-tech touches such as iPod lamps and flat-screen TVs are offered, along with room service from popular local restaurants.

The South Carolina Equine Park has opened for business. The first phase of the 40-acre site includes fenced show rings, warm-up areas, 290 stalls, vendor and RV areas and a restaurant/courtyard and can host major horse shows for competitors of all ages and levels. Camden, with its steeplechase course and horse farms, is a center of the state’s $3 billion equine industry and the new park is expected help generate up to $22 million in direct and indirect spending, according to the SC Equine Promotion Foundation’s economic impact study.
Carnival Cruise Lines will begin year-round service from Charleston beginning with a May 18 departure of the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy. Trips will be to the Bahamas and Key West and depart from the Port of Charleston’s passenger terminal near the historic city’s downtown. The world’s largest cruise line had been offering seasonal trips from Charleston to a variety of destinations for the past 10 years. Local hoteliers are responding by putting together park-and-stay packages. The Mount Pleasant Visitors Center has opened. Situated on nine acres in the shadow of the Ravenel Bridge, the center features one of the state’s longest fishing piers, a waterfront playground, kayak launching area, amphitheater, the Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Pavilion and the Cooper River Room for private parties and receptions.

Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site now offers the new Founders Hall as a space for receptions and meetings. The green-friendly structure includes a full kitchen, screen porch with wood-burning fireplace, satellite television and other amenities for large and small groups in a Lowcountry setting. The 10-year makeover of lower King Street has been completed. Home to some of the downtown area’s popular restaurants and shops, the street now has new ADA-accessible granite curbing, bluestone sidewalks, buried utility lines and new street trees and lights. The popular City Market downtown will get a new look in 2010, its first major renovation since the 1970s. Three of the four sheds will get new paint, re-pointed mortar, roof improvements to help thwart rainfall and vent heat, cleaned up bluestone floors and outside access to vendors. The market is one of the oldest of its kind in the country, dating to 1841, and is home to sweet grass basket makers and purveyors of a wide range of clothing, gift items and collectibles. The work is expected to be done by April.

American Airlines has added direct service from Miami to Charleston International Airport. There now are six airlines offering about 115 flights to 14 destinations daily from the Charleston airport. The new South Carolina State Farmers Market is scheduled to open by June on a 173-acre site just off Interstate 26 near its intersection with Interstate 77 southeast of Columbia. The market will feature retail and wholesale vendors, a farmers’ shed, 400-seat outdoor amphitheater, 150-seat exhibition kitchen, specialty food shops, an RV park, children’s play area, and restaurants. The Children’s Museum of the Upstate opened in July. The 79,000-square-foot facility is one of the largest children’s museums in the country and features 18 interactive exhibits as well as performances, classes and camps. It’s on the Heritage Green campus, where it joins the new Upcountry History Museum, the Greenville County Museum of Art and Bob Jones University’s Museum & Gallery at Heritage Green.
Construction gets under way in 2010 on the new Salvation Army Ray & Joan Kroc Center on South Academy Street in downtown Greenville. The Kroc Foundation donated $46.2 million to the project, with a $15 million local match. The center will include a 300-seat conference center, 300-seat chapel/performing arts center, 25-yard-pool, 16 tennis courts and a Boys & Girls Club facility that can serve 250 children a day. Completion is expected in spring 2011. The S.C. Festival of Discovery and Barbecue Cookoff will be featured in an episode of the Food Network’s “Challenge” series in January after a crew filmed the competition this past summer, marking a new milestone in the growth of popular music and food festival.

The mile-long Oceanfront Boardwalk and Promenade in downtown Myrtle Beach is scheduled to open in phases beginning in the spring of 2010. Stretching from the 2nd Avenue to the 14th Avenue piers, the raised boardwalk will include natural sections that wind through dunes and trees and others lined with shops and restaurants like a classic beachfront boardwalk.

Myrtle Beach International Airport is undergoing expansion from seven to 12 gates at its passenger terminal. A new general aviation terminal also has been added. New parking and car rental facilities also will be part of the expansion. Meanwhile, Spirit Airlines began this year offering seasonal non-stop service from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and will add Atlanta service in 2010. Porter Airlines also plans to launch seasonal service from Toronto City Centre Airport in Canada.

The Grand Strand’s debut Taste! Gourmet Trade Show & Expo will be held May 14 to 16, 2010, at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. Celebrity chefs from the Food Network and more than 200 exhibitors and educational seminars also will be on the menu. The skyline at Carowinds has changed dramatically with the construction of the Intimidator, billed as the Southeast’s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster. The $23 million project also is the largest single investment in the park’s history. It stands 230 feet tall and reaches speeds of 75 mph and is named after NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. The park also is debuting a re-themed 12-acre children’s area named Planet Snoopy, named after the beloved cartoon beagle. For more information, visit www.discoversouthcarolina.com.