More people will fill hotel rooms on the Grand Strand this Thanksgiving weekend, compared to last year.

Numbers from CCU's Center for Tourism Studies show the hotel occupancy rate will be nearly 60% this holiday weekend.

That's better than the 52% from last year, though tourism officials say that doesn't mean much since 2008 was a bad year.

Officials say if the weather's good this weekend, occupancy could do as well as in 2007, when it hit 62%.

For the tourism industry, Thanksgiving weekend will never rank up there with summer holidays, like the Fourth of July or Labor Day, but it can provide a late season boost for many Grand Strand hotels and attractions.

When it comes to festivals or events to attract tourists, there isn't much of anything that's tied to Thanksgiving.

One tourism official said to do well on Thanksgiving weekend, the Grand Strand really doesn't need a special event.

Hotels on Ocean Boulevard will have plenty of vacancies over Thanksgiving weekend, but there are still a few things that can attract tourists.

One family made the trip from Virginia to attend the annual South Carolina Bluegrass Festival.

"Come down to Myrtle Beach to listen to some bluegrass music, get away from Danville a little while, and go to a couple of shows," said traveler Sam Keen.

Gary Loftus from CCU's Center for Economic Development says coming up with a special tourism promotion for Thanksgiving would be okay, though the time and effort might be better spent on other weekends of the year. He said Thanksgiving is one holiday that just takes care of itself. "We don't need to go out of our way to create an event for Thanksgiving. It's already here. We just need to put it together in some type of marketing scheme," said Loftus.

Loftus said the Grand Strand already has Christmas shopping, holiday shows and reasonable rates at local hotels to attract visitors over Thanksgiving.

As for keeping those tourists coming through December, traditionally a very slow month, Loftus said the area has done a few promotions before without much success.

"We tried the Festival of Lights, and that didn't do a whole lot, and we tried some other things that don't do a whole lot, and I just don't know if there is anything that can bring the people here between Thanksgiving and Christmas."

Loftus said it's good hotels have a few weeks of down time in December. It gives them a chance to do some cleaning and maintenance..

In 2004, the hotel occupancy rate was 69%, which was the highest ever for a Thanksgiving weekend on the Grand Strand.