A state senator from Charleston, in town Friday for a meeting of the Council on Coastal Futures, thanked Grand Strand for "taking the tourists we don't want."

Republican Sen. John Kuhn, a Charleston attorney, said, "There are tourists we want and tourists we don't want. You've got them up here."

When the audience, many of whom were local residents, reacted with stares and wide eyes, Kuhn said, "I'm being sincere ... You know what I mean."

Tourist officials said they weren't at all sure what Kuhn meant, but they didn't like his suggestion.

"I resent those comments, but I realize that's not typical of people in Charleston," said Ashby Ward, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

"It's an elitist and snobbish attitude" now only rarely displayed by Charlestonians, Ward said.

Visitors to Charleston tend to have greater personal incomes than visitors to the Grand Strand.

They also tend to have more education and are more likely to hold professional jobs, according to information from the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and the Charleston Centers for Business Research.

Charleston has 4.3 million visitors per year, compared to the Grand Strand's 13.7 million.

After the meeting, Kuhn said his comments were meant as a joke. He said he was sorry if any offense was taken by his comments.

"It's an ongoing thing with Charleston and Myrtle Beach," he said. "There are two types of tourists: the heritage tourists that tend to be interested in antiquing and all those things Charleston has to offer and the tourists who just want to lie out on the beach.

"Charleston is just trying not to build lots and lots of [miniature golf] courses, and you all are."

Asked if there was something wrong with miniature golf courses, Kuhn said, "Not at all. I play them myself."

Charleston tourism officials distanced themselves from Kuhn's comments.

"There's no gate that says, 'You can come in and you can't,'" said Perrin Lawson, spokesman for the Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau, who grew up in Myrtle Beach.

"The state has a diversity of products, from Myrtle Beach to Hilton Head," Lawson said, noting that many visitors to Charleston pair it with a trip to the Grand Strand.

"There is no denying the economic contribution the Strand makes to the state economy."

Joe Carter, a Myrtle Beach real estate agent, developer and conservationist, was addressing the council when Kuhn made his comments. He said later that Kuhn's comment caught him off guard.

He said, referring to Charleston's horse-drawn carriages, "Senator, there are plenty of tourists up here who don't really want to walk behind your horses."