County Tourism Director Reports Numbers, Explains Impact on Cape’s Economy

OCEAN CITY – What’s the big deal about tourism in Cape May County? Try $6.3 billion for starters to the economy. 
Diane Wieland, county director of Information and Tourism, produced figures to prove the importance tourism plays locally March 22 for the county League of Municipalities at the Flanders Hotel here.
The county “still ranks number two in tourism expenditures,” said Wieland. The top spot is held by Atlantic County because of its gaming industry.
For those who might doubt the economic impact birds have on the tourism figures, Wieland said $600 million of the total came from those who like to watch the avian attractions. She added that many international visitors are among those birders.
Many of those who visit the Cape armed with spotting scopes and binoculars to watch the birds watch them in the morning then visit a beach in the afternoon.
Wieland said the occupancy tax generated in the county rose 3 percent in 2016 to $9.86 million. Helping to make that growth possible were 18,000 rooms, campsites, and rental of homes for vacationers. In total there are 48,350 available places for tourists to stay overnight while in the county.
In the last year, there was a steady growth in the occupancy rate in lodging nationally, Wieland said. In the county, that increased 5 percent.
Wieland pointed to an increase in spending in every measured sector of tourism in the last year.
The county’s beaches and other tourist attractions added $547 million in state and local tax receipts in 2016. That was a 2.9 percent increase and accounted for 11.2 percent of the state’s total tax intake.
There were 26,151 direct tourism jobs, an increase of 1.3 percent.
Wieland said that 43.6 percent of the county’s total employment stems from tourism.
For the sum of tax revenue generated by Cape May County sent to the state government, it received $890,000 in tourism grants.
While some may think that generous, Wieland said Essex County generated $5.5 million in tax revenue and got $6.5 million in return, “They got 133 percent back,” she said. The grants are to help fund arts, history and tourism.
“Eleven percent of the state’s sales tax comes from Cape May County,” said Wieland.
“Tourism is what we know. It drives our jobs and economy,” Wieland said.
According to Wieland’s calculations the total $6.271.1 billion spent on tourism includes:
Lodging, $2,489 billion
Food and Beverage, $1.415 billion
Retail $1.235 billion
Recreation, $711.2 million
Transportation, $420.7 million