VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., May 16 (UPI) -- Virginia Beach, Va., tourism officials say their counterparts in Myrtle Beach, S.C., have violated the beach resort code by running ads critical of their town.

The latest Myrtle Beach ad campaign describes the South Carolina resort as "the ideal alternative to Virginia Beach vacations," The (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot reported.

The Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau is not happy with the situation. Jim Ricketts, the bureau director, calls the Myrtle Beach ads "unethical, unfair and frankly beneath the dignity of a major resort."

Myrtle Beach dropped the ads when Virginia Beach protested, although the ads later reappeared on the Internet, the newspaper said.

"You know you're in deep trouble -- or maybe just plain desperate -- when your vacation destination stoops to directly attacking another nearby destination," Ricketts wrote in a May 2 letter.