October 29th 2021

Cape May County's tourism economy appears to have rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic and then some.

From June to August, the county brought in 20.49% more revenue from the occupancy tax than it did over the same period in 2019, according to statistics released by the New Jersey Treasury.

The outlook for the county is similar for the whole of 2021. From January to August, revenue generated from the occupancy tax increased by $2.24 million over the same period in 2019, rising from to $12.9 million from about $10.6 million. This amounts to a 21.1% increase from 2019 to 2021.

The county is using 2019 as the standard of comparison because it was a record year for the county and measures actual growth, according to a news release. Last year's data was affected by the pandemic.

The rejuvenation of activity in the county was not reflected statewide. Revenue generated by the occupancy tax in New Jersey as a whole declined 31.6% in 2021 compared to 2019.

The occupancy tax is a 5% duty collected by the state on fees and service charges from hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfasts. Statistics on the occupancy tax are released by the state on a monthly basis and can be used to analyze how the lodging industry grows or shrinks over time. The average overnight visitor spends $374 per person per day across all sectors of their visit, including on food and beverage, retail, transportation, recreation and retail. Lodging is typically used as a benchmark metric, and other sectors adjust similarly.

Between Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May counties — the four main Jersey Shore counties — Cape May saw the most visitors, according to occupancy tax data. The three-month period from June through August generated more than $10.8 million in occupancy tax for the state.

Cape May County Commissioner Director Gerald Thornton said he had been concerned about the impacts the pandemic and national economic and political issues would have on the shore season. He said the growth the county experienced in 2021 “far exceeded our expectations.”

“We started the summer season concerned about the lasting impacts of the pandemic, the second summer of the U.S./Canada border being closed and the labor shortage,” Thornton said in a statement. “These numbers far exceeded our expectations and point to the hard work of our business owners and their staff that kept businesses operating. Cape May County is well poised to recover from the impact of the pandemic sooner than predicted.”

County Tourism Director Diane Wieland praised the county’s success.

“In July and August, Cape May County generated more than $4 million each month in occupancy tax and outpaced all other counties in the state,” Wieland said in a statement. “This is the first time any county has reached the $4 million mark in one month since the tax was initiated in 2005.”

The New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism will release its tourism economic impact report in early 2022. It will include county, state and local data, and will include statistics on employment, spending by sector, visitation, taxes and employment.

Thornton said that although the county is seeking to diversify its economy, it would continue to work to fortify the tourism industry.

“Tourism is vital to our economy, supporting 60% of our jobs and generating billions of dollars in direct spending,” he said. “While we continue to work to diversify our economy, tourism remains our number one industry and the Board of County Commissioners is committed to supporting the tourism industry.”