If you're not local to SC, I can speak a little more about the larger context. I spent a lot of time in MB in the 80s and early 90s. Our parents would literally just tell us to be back by lunch or dinner and we were free to roam the beach or the strip. We always felt safe, and you would constantly run into people you knew. Sure, locals knew to avoid the OD around bike week, black bike week, and senior week but overall it was a very family friendly experience.

Things changed in the 2000s. Black bike week was exploding in popularity. (BTW, don't come at me about "black bike week". This is the name that locals both black and white have called the event for decades). Atlantic Beach, it's traditional home, could no longer contain the event and the focus of the event shifted to Myrtle. For a few years, things went off the rails. Shootings and stabbings downtown, high levels of property crime, etc. Harley Week was little better. It seemed like Harley Week turned into Harley Month, and good luck trying to move anywhere between 17bypass and the water. During both bike weeks, seeing women twerking in thongs, flashing, or even couples performing sexual acts on public was not unusual. This was not casual toplessness like you might find on a beach in Europe. This was sexually charged nudity around children. The Pavilion (an amusement park) closed around 05 or 06 leaving a literal gaping hole on the strip and tons of teenagers with less options to contain them at night. Meanwhile, MB was experiencing the same woes as the rest of the country with housing shortages, opioid addiction, homelessness, etc. In other words, family friendly Myrtle Beach turned into Dirty Myrtle.

The current crop of city leaders realize that Myrtles reputation has taken a hit and its hurting tourism and local investment. (For example, I don't take my kids there and I personally know very few families here in SC that do. We go to other beaches now). They invested in more infrastructure to lure families, like the boardwalk and that big farris wheel. They are targeting a different demographic with the country music fest. Part of the change seems to be much stricter law enforcement on seemingly trivial things like vehicle modifications, traffic infractions, and revealing swimwear.