Redesigned website leads to tourist treasures

South Carolina's tourism agency has redesigned its culinary web site, bringing popular features to the forefront and making it easier for browsers to find the culinary details they need when considering or planning a trip to South Carolina.

Building off the state's already strong online presence, the culinary site at www.SavorSouthCarolina.com opens up with stunning photos of signature food and beverages such as Frogmore stew found in restaurants across the Lowcountry and craft beer from the Blue Ridge Brewing Co. in Greenville.

It also has tab-easy access to information on chefs, restaurants, cooking schools, recipes, festivals and gourmet shops, and it features bold columns highlighting what's new on the culinary scene, what's been discovered by South Carolina's food blogger and which restaurants and festivals are highlighted for the week.

The website follows the same template used for the state's primary tourism web site at www.DiscoverSouthCarolina.com.

"Great food has become such an important part of the vacation experience, it deserves special attention like this," said Duane Parrish, director of the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. "We want to exceed consumer demand for tastes and flavors they can find only in the South, and we can do that by continuously improving access to the details."

Bumped

Southwest Airlines launched a new low-fare deal last week with one-way fares as low as $59 to some destinations, but Charleston was among a handful of destinations specifically excluded from the lowest fare.

Airline spokeswoman Ashley Dillon said local flyers don't quality because of the limited number of flights leaving and arriving in Charleston and the high demand for seats since the airline started service here in March.

Flyers can still take advantage of deals for less than $100 out of Charleston, she said.

Flights must be booked by July 14 for travel between Aug. 23 and Dec. 14. Fares are not good for Fridays and Saturdays and around Labor Day and Thanksgiving.

Getting out the vote

State parks in South Carolina can win thousands of dollars in private grants if they get enough supporters to vote in an annual "America is Your Park" campaign sponsored by Coca Cola.

The Atlanta-based soft drink giant launched the campaign last week with the primary mission of encouraging families to become more active outside this summer. Part of the campaign invites them to visit www.LivePositively.com to vote for their favorite state park through Sept. 6. The top three vote-getters will receive $100,000, $50,000 and $25,000 in recreation grants.

Last year's winner, with more than 1.6 million votes, was Bear Head Lake State Park in Ely, Minn..

The campaign, developed in collaboration with the National Park Foundation, America's State Parks and the National Recreation and Park Association, also encourages people to attend active healthy living events at local parks this summer.

Reach Warren L. Wise at 937-5524.