Officials Hopeful for Successful Summer Despite Virus

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COURT HOUSE – Speaking the way a sommelier might when discussing a great vintage, state and local tourism officials celebrated 2019 as a successful year.
As part of a Cape May County Chamber of Commerce webinar on the Economic Report 2019, Jeff Vasser, executive director, Division of Travel and Tourism, and Diane Wieland, tourism director, Cape May County, both provided highlights of a banner year past and described creative efforts underway to secure a solid tourism season for 2020, even in the wake of the COVID-19 scare.
Vasser spoke first, presenting numbers on tourism’s economic impact in the state. A growth of 3.8% in 2019 continued an upward swing in visitor spending. Vasser said spending by visitors topped $46 billion last year, supporting over 342,000 jobs. Tourism was the state’s sixth-largest employer.
Having described a banner year, Vasser discussed 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. Believing that the desire to travel “still exists,” and that New Jersey is “a one-stop comprehensive travel resource,” Vasser said the state had launched a new state tourism website, visitnj.org.
The goal of the site is to keep “the sights, sounds, smells and vibe of New Jersey top of mind,” even during a period governed by stay-at-home orders and bans on non-essential travel.
Daily webcam streams, virtual tours, downloadable backgrounds for Zoom gatherings, playlist and movie guides that feature the state, and even games for groups to play remotely, are part of the experience aimed at keeping the state “top of mind.”
A Taste NJ Campaign has also been launched, promoting state and regional restaurants offering expanded takeout menus. A marriage of the two efforts is a push for “Dinner and a Movie” Wednesday, with food supplied by takeout or delivery to be enjoyed with New Jersey-themed film.
The ultimate goal is to be positioned to welcome back tourists as COVID-19 restrictions ease.
Wieland then focused attention on Cape May County’s $6.9 billion tourism economy, which drew over 10 million visitors to the county, in 2019. Almost 9% of all the visitors to the state’s 21 counties came to Cape May County.
Wieland showed statistics confirming an expanding shoulder season, but they also showed the central importance of summer to the county visitor-based economy.  The top markets from which the county draws its visitors remain the state itself and neighboring Pennsylvania and New York.
That fact is seen as a strength in the comeback from virus-induced retrenchment. People will drive for travel before they will return to destinations requiring air travel, Chamber members were told.
Occupancy tax figures again showed the centrality of summer, with 75% of the annual tax revenue tied to occupancy from June through September.
Wieland pointed to the importance of the county’s economy to state revenues, noting that county tourism spins off $565 million in state and local tax, or $1.5 million a day.
The importance of visitor spending to the county was evident in Wieland’s data on jobs. Direct and indirect employment based on tourism accounts for over 60% of the county’s total jobs.
Wieland presented the county’s Brighter Days Ahead campaign, with print, digital, social media and broadcast ads aimed at targeted locations within a “Tank of Gas Away.”
The concern for public health is not forgotten in the effort to save the annual tourist season. Efforts to promote county tourism will also promote the county as a place that adheres to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines and where people can feel safe.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.