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How Did Tourism Do?

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By Bill Barlow

To access the Herald’s local coronavirus/COVID-19 coverage, click here.
COURT HOUSE – It’s been a weird summer, reports Diane Wieland, Cape May County’s spokeswoman and tourism director.
Any other year, that would be an extraordinary pronouncement from a woman who has spent her career as a booster for Cape May County tourism. After the past several months, though, it seems about right.
“In my 45 years in this job, I’ve never seen a year like this, and I just want it over,” she said.
The coronavirus pandemic – and the extraordinary emergency restrictions established in hopes of slowing its spread – slammed the local economy, which is dominated by mom-and-pop operations and dependent on the three peak months of summer for most of its revenue.
“We’re in good company with the rest of the state and the rest of the country,” she said.
Wieland’s assessment of the summer of 2020 was not entirely bleak, even if the good news boiled down to the fact that things were not quite as bad as they might have been. 
Wieland uses the numbers from the state room tax as a telltale for the number of people visiting the county. After an abysmal April, in which the revenue from the room tax was down more than 90% compared to the year before, some signs of life returned to the county.
The numbers were still down, in May and June, just not by as much. After an early spring of closed beaches and boardwalks, shuttered restaurants, and an order closing non-essential business, July and August seemed relatively normal, as visitors got used to mask requirements and limited capacity in most businesses.
Still, some businesses will not be back for 2021. Wieland suggested that number could be as high as 10% to 15%, which would have sounded devastating in another context, but now seems almost welcome. Earlier predictions put the potential numbers at a quarter of local businesses or more shutting their doors for good.
That’s if a vaccine or cure can be found for the novel virus that emerged late last year, and rapidly spread around the globe, racking up a staggering toll both globally and in the U.S. Once one of the hottest spots for the virus, New Jersey is now relatively quiet, as the virus continues to spread in states around the nation.
If the primary means of controlling its spread remains widespread lockdowns, the picture for the local economy looks far less promising.
“We can’t take another summer like this one,” Wieland said.
Multiple restrictions remain in place, even as others are lifted or eased. Gov. Phil Murphy allowed limited inside dining and gyms and fitness centers to reopen. Restaurants were one of the hardest-hit sectors of the economy, Wieland said. The expansion of outside dining may have saved some, but others did not have the space to get enough tables outside to make the summer viable.
“We had some rainy nights that are just killing the restaurants,” Wieland said.
Starting Sept. 4, restaurants were allowed to resume indoor dining, with the capacity at 25% and new social distance protocols in place. Other businesses, like movie theaters and live performances, could also open, under similar restrictions.
Wieland heard mixed reports from restaurants, some of which went to great lengths to accommodate outside dining. Some may stick with outside tables, she said, at least until the weather cools.
She said she heard that some were “not going to bother with indoor dining for Labor Day weekend.” 
Across the board, businesses face more work to adhere to disinfecting protocols and other new requirements, while drawing less revenue.
Staffing was also an issue throughout the summer, with the county seeing a tiny fraction of the number of guest workers visiting from other nations under the J-1 visa program.
Shore towns often have staffing issues as schools return to session.
“That’s our biggest concern right now, is the lack of employees,” Wieland said.
Some businesses succeeded, she said. Perhaps not surprisingly, liquor stores did well over the summer. Stays in hotels, motels, and bed and breakfast inns are down, but real estate agents report that rentals were strong through the end of the summer.
Home sales are up, with real estate agents, in Cape May, and other communities, reporting homes selling at or above the asking price almost as quickly as they are listed, as people leave cities. Many are working remotely, and want to be in Cape May County, which has one of the lowest rates of infection in the state.
With many schools also going remote, fall rentals are strong, Wieland reports. Local schools have also seen an increase in enrollment, as people decide to stay the winter in their summer homes or buy in the resort towns or on the mainland.
“We’re seeing people renting for a year, so their kids can go to school here,” she said.
Another group that’s been conspicuously missing this year was the French-speaking vacationers from Quebec, who have, for years, spent two weeks, in Cape May County, each summer by the thousands.
“We’re seeing a lot more Pennsylvania and New York visitors. No Canadians because the border was closed,” she said. Usually, Quebecois visitors make up from 7% to 9% of the summer visitors to the county.
“I thought that would devastate the campgrounds,” she said. Many Canadians stay in offshore campgrounds each year. There are 47 campgrounds, in Cape May County, accounting for about 17,000 sites. “That’s a big industry for us,” Wieland said.
Camping has seen a bump in popularity, as travelers feel safer in their RV, trailer, or tent.
As retail stores began to allow people inside after being limited for a time to curbside pickup, that’s meant increased sales, Wieland said.
“They’re just so happy to be able to just shop,” she said. “I know I’m sick of buying online.” 
There were other changes to the local economy, some of which are likely here to stay. For instance, the local oyster industry spent years building a reputation and a clientele, but looked likely to be devastated as the restaurants stopped buying early this summer. According to Wieland, the oyster companies began selling directly to consumers, as did other seafood outfits.
“They’re not only breaking even, they’re ahead of where they were last year,” she said. “That was not part of their business plan, but it will certainly become a permanent part of the business plan going forward.”
Some local businesses found innovative ways to keep customers, she said, and some restaurants successfully pivoted to takeout, but few have seen the summer they were hoping for after the banner revenues of 2019, which saw $6.9 billion in tourism spending in the county, a record tally that 2020, at one time, seemed likely to top.
“We have to remind everyone that we started out really well this year. We were up into March. Before we got hit hard, we were experiencing a steady growth,” Wieland said. “We were really on track to have another record year.”
She said she recently visited some of the local boardwalks, and it looked about as crowded as a summer evening in another year.
“I was very happy to see how many people were wearing masks,” she said.
To contact Bill Barlow, email bbarlow@cmcherald.com.

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