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One of the nation’s hottest culinary destinations is hosting a weeklong celebration of its award-winning fare at a special price. From September 8 – 19, diners may enjoy $20 and $30 three course menus at more than 50 participating Charleston area restaurants. From casual to fine dining, the options span the local culinary scene, which includes locavore cuisine, sustainable seafood, heirloom recipes and more. The Charleston area is the only place outside of New York City to produce three consecutive James Beard Foundation award winning chefs, and Travelocity named it …

The Charleston area earned five nods from the World’s Best Awards, a ranking of the top hotels, destinations, airlines, cruises, outfitters and transportation companies as decided by the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine. The results are featured in the August issue and currently appear on travelandleisure.com.

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Making it even easier for families to visit Charleston this summer, more than 20 area hotels are offering packages that combine both leisure with learning! A complete listing of hotel packages can be found at www.ExploreCharleston.com.

Southwest Airlines announced it will begin service at both Charleston and Greenville International Airports within the next twelve months. According to a spokesperson for Southwest Airlines, the local Air Service Team’s collaborative efforts presented a compelling case for bringing low-cost air service to Charleston. Comprised of the Charleston County Aviation Authority, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Air Service Team hosted airline officials during site visits and worked with legislators on air service incentive funding measures.

With its annual rankings, Tennis Resorts Online named two Charleston area resorts as the top tennis resorts in the world. Kiawah Island Golf Resort maintained its No. 1 status, which it held four of the last five years, while Wild Dunes Resort moved from No. 10 in the world in 2009 to No. 2 in 2010.

For the third year in a row, a Charleston, S.C. chef was named “Best Chef of the Southeast” during the annual James Beard Foundation Awards held on May 3, 2010 in New York City. Sean Brock of McCrady’s Restaurant beat out stiff competition to continue the three-year tradition for the destination, riding the wave of success started by two other star Charleston chefs, FIG’s Mike Lata (2009) and Hominy Grill’s Robert Stehling (2008).

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Five family vacations to the Charleston area are up for grabs as part of the Rediscover the Family Vacation promotion! Winners will be picked based on creative video submittals.  For inspiration, take a look at videos submitted last year:  www.charlestonvacationgiveaway.com/winners_2009.html. For more information, visit www.charlestonvacationgiveaway.com

Southern Living magazine’s January edition features its 2009 Readers’ Choice Awards, in which several honors go to the Charleston, SC area. In competition with other southern destinations, readers of the widely popular magazine once again named Charleston their Favorite Southern City. Honors also included top tier billing for Best Weekend Getaway, Best Family Destination and Best Festivals, among others.

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The Good Neighbors, Great Getaways program includes a number of value-added packages for residents of South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia.  The packages are valid through March 31, 2010 and can be found by visiting www.goodneighborgetaways.com.

Make plans now.  Before you set sail from the Port of Charleston or after the ship’s anchor has lowered again in the Lowcountry, spend a night or two in the Charleston area. Area lodging providers make the stay extra enticing by offering special values to cruise-bound visitors like free parking, special rates …