STRATHMERE – “Housing and transportation is the number one problem for employment in Cape May County,” Vicki Clark, president, Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, told the Cape May County League of Municipalities at its March 24 meeting at the Deauville Inn, in Strathmere.
“If we don’t address this issue countywide, this will be the biggest detriment to the future of our tourism industry and the future of all the other industry developments in Cape May County,” she said, adding that the chamber wants to work with the League of Municipalities to find solutions to the problem.
A Look Back
Clark’s business forecast began with a look back at the last two years. She noted that statewide, it’s believed that 35% of businesses closed. Here, in Cape May County, “we think that number is like 10% or 12%,” she said.
There were a lot of business owners already thinking about selling or retiring, according to Clark, and when Covid hit, they decided to do it.
“Some of it was circumstantial, some of it was just the environment, but Cape May County did much better than the rest of the state,” she said, “and a lot of that is because we are a very close–knit, tight community and a lot of it is because we are a tourism–driven community, and as much as we want to diversify our economy, and we’re working very hard to do that, tourism is the lifeblood of Cape May County.”
The coastal shift became a reality in 2020, she said, as more people chose to live and work remotely in the county. That shift bolstered businesses, like home service businesses, “that had never really prospered the way they were doing,” according to Clark.
Summer 2022
In looking toward summer 2022, Clark said rising gas prices “will work in our favor.”
“We’ve always been a drive–to destination when we look at our tourism economy,” she explained. “A 300-mile radius is our primary customer base.”
Businesses are extending remote work to their employees to save gas, according to Clark, “so that is going to benefit us for those employees who can work remotely from Cape May County.”
She noted that airline ticket prices are increasing and even though the cruise industry is returning, it will be affected, adding that people will not be taking exotic vacations.
“Our tourism industry is going to do very well,” she said.
Canadian Visitors
Clark pointed out that for the first time in two years, the Canadian border is open.
She thanked Cape May County Commissioner E. Marie Hayes, who was in attendance, as well as the other county commissioners, for funding a “reconnect Canada special promotion” to attract Canadian visitors to the county.
“I don’t know how much we really have to market to them,” she said, noting that the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority’s (GWTIDA) website traffic is up 100% for Canadian visitors. “They are anxious to come back.”
She explained that Virginia Beach, in Virginia, and Myrtle Beach, in South Carolina, are two of the county’s biggest competitors for Canadian travelers, “but we’re closer than they are, so they’ll want to be here more because they don’t have to travel as far.”
“We really appreciate our Canadian travelers because they stay about 10 days to two weeks,” she continued. “Some of them stay even longer than that, so our Canadian visitors are going to be back in full force this year.”
Workforce Issues
The county’s workforce problems remain, according to Clark.
“They’re not at the crisis point that they were in 2021, but our businesses tell us that their employee problems are still one of their biggest headaches,” she said.
She cited a national survey by The Muse, which states that over 70% of workers regret quitting their jobs during the ‘Great Resignation,’ “so we have some hope that because many of these people worked in the tourism and hospitality industry, they may be returning to those jobs.”
Employers are taking advantage of the J-1 visa program this year, according to Clark.
She explained that students must have a job before they apply to the embassy to get their visa appointment, “so if they have gone through that process and they can get a visa appointment and they can make travel arrangements, they will be able to come to the U.S. to work here.”
She said she spoke with one employer who recruited 31 students from Jamaica and another who recruited 90 students from a variety of different countries.
How’s the program impacted by the war in Ukraine?
“We don’t get that many students from Ukraine,” Clark said, adding, “We get many more students from Russia.”
She mentioned a conversation with an employer who recruited two students from Ukraine, who said they can go to Poland and then travel to the U.S. Likewise, another employer said he has students coming from Russia, and they will go to Istanbul and then to the U.S.
“Hopefully, these students who are not involved in the conflict will be able to participate in the program,” she added.
New Land Use Regulations
Earlier that day, the chamber passed a resolution opposing New Jersey Protection Against Climate Threats (NJPACT).
Per the resolution, the DEP “is planning to adopt new land use regulations that will significantly devalue land and stymie construction in Cape May County.”
Clark expressed concern that these regulations, which stem from Gov. Phil Murphy’s January 2020 Executive Order 100, are not being enacted by legislation, rather they’re being enacted through municipal codes.
The resolution states the DEP “is requiring municipalities to adopt a new statewide flood damage protection ordinance that would automatically impose the NJPACT regulations once they are adopted...”
The new flood damage protection ordinance “requires that road and parking areas proposed in the flood hazard area be constructed at least 1 foot above the flood hazard area design elevation, that permits be issued for ordinary maintenance and minor work, that seasonally occupied homes be built on a permanent foundation, among other new regulations,” it continues. “Businesses not currently within mapped flood zones and may have not experienced flooding will be encumbered with higher insurance premiums and coastal real estate values may be prematurely devalued, and poor and middle-class residents will be disproportionately priced out of their homes by the costs of mandated flood mitigation measures.”
The resolution asks the DEP to “delay implementing changes in the local flood damage protection ordinance until the NJPACT regulations are properly adopted by the public/Legislative rulemaking process.”
Clark urged the League of Municipalities to act at its next meeting, April 28, with a resolution opposing the regulations.
Following the March 24 meeting, League of Municipalities Secretary Shannon Romano provided members with a copy of the chamber’s resolution via email, as well as a similar one from North Wildwood. She stated the county commissioners’ resolution will be forthcoming.
