Southern Living chief addresses Travel Council

John Alex Floyd Jr. , the editor in chief of Southern Living magazine, swung into town last week to keynote the annual meeting of Charleston's Travel Council, the throng of tourism professionals who bankroll the local Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Floyd said he is very fond of Charleston, which came as no surprise given the amount of ink his magazine spills on the Holy City. He also said Charleston will fare relatively well in the current listless economy. Vacationers are looking for destinations where they can do a variety of things and still stay put, according to Floyd. Charleston fits the bill.

" 'Destination vacation' is really the word, and Charleston is a great destination," Floyd explained. "In their minds, they're using less gas."

However, Floyd really won some new fans when he claimed Charleston has become the culinary capital of the South since Hurricane Katrina swamped New Orleans.

"You're playing the local game very well, you have exceptional chefs, and who can deny the history of Lowcountry food?" Floyd explained. "It's really become an icon thing for you."

Speaking of local ...

At the same meeting, the CVB served up its annual "Golden Pineapple" awards, which go to local tourism workers who made a big difference in recent months, or act as a sort of lifetime-achievement award.

This year's harvest went to Dan Blumenstock, general manager of the Holiday Inn Charleston Airport; Frank Fredericks, managing director of Wild Dunes Resort; Charleston Police Chief Greg Mullen; Charleston Police Sgt. Dale Wilson; Lou Hammond of Lou Hammond and Associates public relations; Catherine Dority, a 10-year CVB veteran; and Darby Keene, who also marked his 10th year with the CVB.

Pack 'em or park 'em

Commercial jets have been landing at Florence Regional Airport. But they aren't taking off again.

The rural terminal, struggling to keep commercial service, has pitched itself to the airlines as a "boneyard" for retired or semiretired planes. Its tarmac is dotted with a dozen idle regional jets. They came from Mesa Air Group, a contract carrier, and they are marked with faded Delta logos. Hartsell Rogers, the airport's director, told a reporter that Mesa will park an additional 26 planes on his field, some for a few weeks, others indefinitely. Rogers says he has enough space for 150 of the jets.

With 50-70 seats apiece, regional jets — once a blessing for small-traffic towns like Charleston and Florence — have become some of the most inefficient hardware in the skies because of fuel prices.

Florence still has about seven arrivals and departures a day, though it is increasingly likely that some of those jets will land for good in the coming months.

Reach Kyle Stock at 937-5763 or kstock@postandcourier.com.