Thank goodness for the gas cards.
While tighter family budgets have curbed traffic and spending in popular Carolinas vacation spots, some businesses are weathering the downturn through aggressive marketing of discounts, specials and other incentives — including gas cards.
In Brunswick County, N.C. — home of Bald Head Island, Sunset Beach and other beach communities — many hotels and rental companies offered $50 and $100 cards to visitors, said Mitzi York, executive director of the county Tourism Development Authority.
"I just don't remember in previous summers seeing a lot of that," she said.
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