County Chamber Calls for NJ Legislature to Restore Tourism Funding

COURT HOUSE — The Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, along with tourism, arts, and history organizations in Cape May County, is calling for the New Jersey legislature to restore funding for marketing and promotion back to the level of support in 2005.
According to Vicki Clark, President of the Chamber, “we currently have bills in the NJ Senate and Assembly, S1133 and A2160, that would increase the minimum amount of allocation for tourism, arts, and history. This proposed bill would not cause a tax burden for New Jersey tax payers as this funding is generated by the tourism industry Occupancy Tax which was created in 2003 for this very purpose and has remained stagnant since 2005.”
According to Michael Zuckerman, Director of Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts and Humanities headquartered in Cape May, “all of us in the First Legislative District arts and history community are feeling the pain from the steep cuts in state funding that have been frozen in recent years. While the dismal economy and extreme weather have hurt our other revenue streams, from admissions to donations, our costs have continued to grow. We’re coping with major increases in insurance (especially health insurance) and heating bills, and now the hike minimum wage. A restoration of state funding to the 2005 level would allow us to expand our service to the community, through our cultural offerings to area residents, our educational outreach programs to local school children and our stimulating the economy through the sponsorship of cultural and heritage tourism.”
New Jersey lags behind all neighboring states and competing destinations in its investment in tourism promotion. The Occupancy Tax was instituted in 2003 as a mechanism to fund New Jersey tourism, arts and culture, and history without burdening NJ taxpayers. Modeled after other states, this “bed tax” is paid by business and leisure travelers who stay over-night in hotels, motels or bed and breakfast inns throughout the state. According to the statute, funding for tourism, arts and history is based on certain percentages for each group, allowing the funding to grow as the Occupancy Tax collected grows each year. However, the legislation also includes a “minimum” amount of funding that must be allocated and since 2005, that has been the case although the industry has shown growth generating higher levels of Occupancy Tax each year.
Rae Jaffe, President of the Ocean City Fine Arts League is concerned about the future of many arts organizations in South Jersey. “The need for increased funding of the arts is evident now more than ever. Numerous not for profits in South Jersey are still rebounding from the effects of hurricane Sandy on our organizations and the community. All of us are vying for the diminishing tourist and local dollars out there to support us in our endeavors to bring culture to the masses and support to our artists.”
While this legislation will benefit tourism, arts, and history promotion throughout the entire state, the Cape May County Chamber feels it is of critical importance locally. Tourism is the number one industry in our area. Everyone in Cape May County is dependent on the tourism industry. Without tourism, we would not be able to support our schools, medical facilities, or anything else. The way to increase our tourism industry is through marketing and promotion and the state has an obligation to foster this type of economic development.
With enough support, this legislation could be fast-tracked and approved by the legislature by the end of this legislation session on June 30. If that success is met, pending the Governor’s signature, New Jersey tourism, arts, and history could see additional promotional funding in 2015.