A new survey moves Charleston up among the largest cities in the country as a favorite travel spot, a recognition that tourism promoters say will boost holiday business this year and could help lure more group and corporate visitors down the road.

Readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine have named the city as the third-most popular getaway in the country, trailing only San Francisco and New York City. Last year, Charleston ranked fifth.

Other U.S. cities in the top 10 rankings, in descending order, are Chicago, Sante Fe in New Mexico, New Orleans, Boston, Honolulu, Washington, D.C., and Carmel, Calif.

Savannah was the only city to drop off the list this year. The cities were evaluated on a number of criteria, including ambience, friendliness, culture, restaurants, shopping and nightlife.

Conde Nast readers also named two downtown lodging businesses - Wentworth Mansion and Charleston Place - among the top 50 U.S. hotels. The 21-room Wentworth Mansion made the list for the first time, ranking 42nd. Owner Rick Widman predicted the 4-year-old property will see an immediate increase in bookings. But the long-term effects will be even more significant, he said.

"This is huge," Widman said. "Just the fact that little Charleston is up there with San Francisco and New York and we're the smallest market means a lot to Charleston._This is something you work for, promote, use to your advantage and continue to use always. This is something that stays with you. It's a badge that differentiates us from other markets."

Paul Stracey, general manager of Charleston Place, which was ranked 44th in the survey, said the publicity may attract more group travel to the hotel.

"We'll use it as a talking point with groups," Stracey said. "The Reader's Choice award is the top travel poll in the United States, and there is nothing bigger than Conde Nast. It has credence."

"ADDS CREDIBILITY"     

The Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau already has started using the favorable reviews in its fall marketing materials, said Helen Hill, executive director.     

"It just adds credibility to when we say, 'Charleston is a wonderful place to visit,'" she said. "This is one of those surveys that can't be bought. It's a true readers' poll. It's not like if you advertise more you can make the poll."    

Hill and other tourism officials see the publicity as a boon for holiday travel this year. Also, the recognition should help lure more corporate travelers to the area next year.

"This will have a tremendous impact on the holiday season in Charleston, and it will be a tremendous boost next spring," said Prem Devadas, CVB chairman and managing director of Kiawah Island Resorts.

Conde Nast wasn't the only bearer of good news for the hospitality business last week. Mobil Travel Guide released its list of four-star properties Thursday, and all seven local lodging and dining businesses that made the cut in past years maintained their ratings: Charleston Place, Boardwalk Inn at Wild Dunes resort, Wentworth Mansion, Woodlands Inn & Resort, Charleston Grill, The Dining Room at Woodlands and Peninsula Grill.

The Conde Nast and Mobil accolades come at a time when many hoteliers are seeing a shift in their visitor base.
    
CAR TRIPS INCREASING

While fewer corporate travelers are flying to Charleston, more vacationers are arriving by car, sources said. That trend is reflected in the reduction in air service at Charleston International since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks - flights remain off by about 10 percent, according to airport figures.

Meanwhile, the radius of Charleston's drive-in market has expanded up and down the East Coast from New York to Florida and as far west as Tennessee, said Al Parrish, an economist at Charleston Southern University.

"Charleston always has been a drive destination, but it is more so now," he said.

Robert Kisabeth, president of the Greater Charleston Hotel-Motel Association and general manager of the Embassy Suites in North Charleston, said innkeepers are trying harder to appeal to drive-in guests to offset the loss of corporate bookings.

"We're all doing a lot of different things until corporate travel comes back, if it ever does," he said.

At the 440-room Charleston Place, the area's biggest hotel, some groups are being lured back with reduced rates, Stracey said.

"Pricing has been difficult," he said. "We've had to work with different room rates. It's definitely more of a buyer's market." As a result, he said, the hotel's group bookings have been comparable to last year.

At the Charleston Area Convention Center, bookings from July through December this year are expected to be $50,000 above projections, said Ed Riggs, sales director.

Riggs credited the increase to a marketing effort aimed at groups that can drive rather than fly to Charleston. Groups also are driving from greater distances, he said.

 "We were attracting regional associations and meetings already," Riggs said, "And that market, the drive market, has been enhanced with marketing dollars. It has worked extremely well."

Projections for the rest of this year in the accommodations industry are optimistic and show an expected occupancy rate of 64.5 percent, compared with 60.5 percent in the fourth quarter last year.

The average daily room rate is expected to rise about 3 percent for this quarter to about $105 for Charleston County properties, up from $100 during the same period last year, said Jacki Renegar, director of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce's Center for Business Research.