Jerseyans Plan to Flock to Shore This Year, Poll Shows

Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey poll
Things may be looking up for New Jersey shore towns this year. The latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll finds that more state residents plan to head “down the shore” this summer than in the past four years. And compared to last summer alone, more middle income families plan to stay for a week or more.
More than 2-in-3 state residents plan on visiting the Jersey Shore this summer, including 27% who will spend a week or more and 42% who plan on shorter visits. Another 6% of Garden State residents live down the shore. Among those staying a week or more, about half (48%) say it will be their family’s main vacation this year.
The 69% of New Jerseyans who plan to visit the shore this year is up from 59% who planned to visit in 2009. The number who intend to stay for a week or more has also climbed by 6 percentage points compared to last year.
About 13% of New Jerseyans report that a shore stay will be their family’s main vacation for the year. This number has been fairly consistent over the past few years. What really impacts the tourism economy are the number of people who choose to visit the shore for additional vacation time. This number has fluctuated during the economic downturn. Last year it stood at 9%, but this year’s survey indicates that 14% of New Jerseyans plan a secondary vacation of a week or more down the shore.
“While the MTV show has brought renewed notoriety to New Jersey’s beach scene, I think an improving economy rather than the chance of spotting Snooki or ‘The Situation’ is the main reason state residents will return to the shore this summer,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute. “Our poll indicates that many New Jersey families are still struggling financially, but the greater intent to make vacation plans this year is perhaps an indication of better days ahead.”
Monmouth University Polling Institute 5/2/10
The poll results suggest that a brighter economic outlook will affect the economic mix of shore visitors this year. Compared to last year, middle income residents are more likely to plan a week or longer vacation down the shore and lower income residents are more likely to make a shore visit at all. Upper income residents will continue to visit the shore in numbers similar to past summer seasons. Among those earning less than $50,000 a year, 61% say they will be making a shore visit this year, which is up from 46% last year and also somewhat higher than in previous surveys (54% in 2008 and 53% in 2007). Among those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year, 68% say they will be making a shore visit this year, up just slightly from previous surveys. However, 29% of this income group say they will be staying a week or more, which is up from 19% last year. Among those earning more than $100,000 a year, 78% say they will be making a shore visit this year and 32% will stay for aweek or more. These numbers are similar to previous surveys.
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