Myrtle Beach is making waves in the entertainment business with a wealth of local shows and Broadway touring productions

MYRTLE BEACH, South Carolina (CNN) -- The number one attraction in Myrtle Beach is the 60 miles (97 kilometers) of coastline known as the Grand Strand. It's so popular, in fact, that in 1997 AAA named the area the country's number two summer vacation destination, trailing only Orlando, Florida.

While the surf and sands draw the crowds as they have for decades, in recent years, the entertainment industry has given the city a new wave of success.

Calvin Gilmore is given much of the credit for getting Myrtle Beach in tune with the entertainment world. He opened the Carolina Opry in 1986, billing his show as "Grand Ole Opry with a dash of Broadway."

Calvin Gilmore can take much of the credit for getting Myrtle Beach in tune with the entertainment world. He opened the Carolina Opry in 1986

Gilmore was raised in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri with a penchant for country music, but his current show is full of variety. Still, he says, the "good old fashioned country music" is his favorite part of the show.

"That's probably what I do best," he says.

As for what makes his musical efforts a success, Gilmore gives 12 million reasons.

"Twelve million visitors a year to Myrtle Beach," he says.

Those kind of numbers are music to the ears of the local Chamber of Commerce.

"We are getting inquiries from all 50 states, almost every day, and a lot of foreign countries," says COC president Ashby Ward. "We used to have to explain where Myrtle Beach was ... and now it's a given."

And what's even better, says Ward, is that almost three-quarters of those who visited last year will be back this year.

But for many years, there was one thing lacking on the Strand.

"At night there was a dearth of things to do," Ward says. "We did not have a lot of regular entertainment on a nightly basis and so the basic question we had was, 'What do we do here at night?'"

During the 1990s, nightlife at Myrtle Beach has taken on a new meaning. Eleven live entertainment theaters have helped the city evolve into a year-round destination with one key -- affordability.

The average night's stay is about $66 dollars. Add that to the price of a theater ticket -- generally about $25 per show -- and you've got a night on the town Myrtle Beach style.

A trip to Myrtle Beach now includes an affordable nightlife including entertainment theaters and great music. The group Alabama got their start at the Bowery (right), a local hangout

Country music supergroup Alabama was the first celebrity act to hit the Myrtle Beach music scene -- as Wild Country, the house band at local hangout The Bowery, for seven summers before their debut on the country music charts in 1980. Their stay at The Bowery is immortalized in the song "Dancin', Shaggin' On The Boulevard."

"The Bowery gave us a great place, a great avenue to be a band and to be able to write and be able to create," says singer Randy Owen. "The thing with Myrtle Beach and Alabama, it's a unique thing because this is us."

Alabama has outgrown The Bowery and has its own theater now in Myrtle Beach, so visitors can sing along with their longtime favorites or try something new. And no, the group isn't there 365 days a year, but the Alabama Theater does host a two-hour show, this year called "Celebration '98," along with "Christmas in Dixie" (an Alabama song title) and celebrity concerts.

Nowadays the coastal town even attracts touring Broadway productions. "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" starring Barbara Eden (TV's "I Dream of Jeannie") was running at the Palace Theater the weekend CNN visited.

"Changing Myrtle Beach?" Eden says. "It makes me feel very good ... If it's changing, it's changing for the positive."

Country singer Steve Gatlin (of Gatlin Brothers fame) calls Myrtle Beach "a dream" location.

"I believe the entertainment industry within the Myrtle Beach area is just the icing on the cake," Gatlin says. "People still come here for the golf and the beach, so that in itself is a little different. If you're in Branson, Missouri, you know everybody who comes to that town is going to see a show. That's not necessarily the case here -- we're trying to change that."

The scenic shoreline, plenty of places for discount shopping and the game of golf will keep travelers singing the praises of Myrtle Beach. But now the city is discovering the power of making waves in the music world, adding a new harmony to this already popular destination.