The boardwalk in Myrtle Beach took the state’s top tourism award Wednesday, but not just because it’s popular with visitors.

To land the coveted Governor’s Cup, the boardwalk also generated $2 million worth of free publicity and sparked other development in the heart of the city’s tourism hub, which was facing an uncertain future with the closure of its longtime anchor, The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park.

Local leaders picked up the Governor’s Cup during the Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Travel at Embassy Suites at Kingston Plantation Resort.