If this year�s ITB consumer/trade show in Berlin is any indication, the Myrtle Beach area will be seeing a surge in the number of German visitors it welcomes in the year ahead.

Elaine Michaud, international and travel agent sales manager for the Myrtle Beach Area Convention Bureau, returned from Berlin Thursday and reported that the show was the best she has attended in the five years she has been working the German market.

�There�s a lot of interest in the U.S. and the Myrtle Beach area,� Michaud said. �Tour operators are coming to us for help in planning bus tours, setting up golf vacations, and learning everything they can about our area and all of South Carolina,� she said.

ITB is the largest consumer/trade show in Europe and is considered the No. 1 show for the global tourism industry. This year�s ITB show ran March 12-16. According to the ITB Closing Report, more than 10,000 exhibitors from 178 countries participated, and the total number of visitors was over 141,000, including trade show visitors, consumers, and journalists.

Other efforts contributing to an increase in interest from the German market include the bureau�s participation in the International Pow Wow trade show, held last May in St. Louis, and recent familiarization tours of the Myrtle Beach area by three of Germany�s top tour operators: DER Tour, Airtours, and Thomas Cook.

According to the Travel Industry Association (TIA), Germans account for more than 1 million travelers to the United States, and they spend approximately $3 billion here. The United States continues to be the leading long-haul destination for the German traveler, TIA reports, and more than half of those who visit come for vacation.

The Convention Bureau is a division of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information, call (843) 626-7444.

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Media Contact: Holley Aufdemorte +1 843-916-7218 aufdemh@mbchamber.org