For Immediate
Release:
May 23, 2023
County
Commissioners & tourism partners
host summer
kick off press conference
Commissioner
Director discusses importance of tourism industry
SPRING LAKE,
NJ – The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners welcomed the summer
tourism season at a press conference with their tourism partners on Tuesday,
May 23 at the North End Pavilion.
“Summer 2022 was
incredibly successful, with more than $29 million reported in beach revenue in Monmouth
County,” said Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Division of
Tourism. “2022 beach revenue saw a 5% increase over 2021 beach revenue at
roughly $27.5 million.”
Director Arnone also
reported that 2022 visitor spending increased from $2.3 million in 2021 to $2.8
million in 2022 – a 19.6% increase. The 2022 number is a 5.8% increase to the
2019 number of $2.6 million.
The tourism industry supported
nearly 23,000 jobs in 2022, up from 17,000 in 2021. Food and beverage revenue
increased to $816 million in 2022 from $682 million in 2021.
“May
gets me thinking about the long summer to come such as hanging out at the beach
and outdoor dining,” said Spring Lake Mayor Jennifer Naughton. “This is the
magic of these small towns along the beach. They all have their own personalities
and offerings to residents and visitors alike.”
“I
want to thank the Monmouth County Division of Tourism for the donations you
have made to our festivals,” said Ellen Manger, Executive Director of the Greater
Spring Lake Chamber of Commerce. “Our Chamber is a collaborative effort among
Spring Lake, Spring Lake Heights, Lake Como and Sea Girt. We let people know we
have everything they would want here. This is a wonderful place and I tell
everyone who comes here, ‘You will be back.’”
“It
is really important for us to make sure our businesses thrive,” said Dawn
McDonough, Executive Director of the Spring Lake Business Improvement District.
“We have so many great stores. Please come to our downtown and shop in our
stores. We love them.”
This
year the County held the inaugural Travel Guide cover photo contest and would
like to congratulate Bill McKim of Belmar, who received the most votes in the
contest, with his incredible photo of the Belmar Fishing Pier in Belmar which
serves as the cover of the Travel Guide.
“I
am proud to announce that this contest had so much success, we are bringing it
back for 2024! Submissions will be accepted from now until October 15 so get
those cameras out all summer long and you may see your photo on the cover of
next year’s Travel Guide!” said Director Arnone. “Full details are available at
tourism.visitmonmouth.com.”
“The
2023 Monmouth County Travel Guide has tons of activities, resources and programs
to make any trip to Monmouth County a great one,” said Director Arnone. “Join us
for a day trip, stay for an overnight or vacation for the week, there will be
events and activities all summer long and our Travel Guide will be your map to
a great summer in Monmouth County.”
Director
Arnone also discussed ways the Division of Tourism will be involved with local
Chambers of Commerce and other local events this summer.
“Monmouth
County Division of Tourism has been sponsoring and supporting Monmouth County Chambers
of Commerce and local events through the Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)
grant the Division received for 2023,” said Director Arnone. “We will be at
more events than ever this year and we can’t wait to see everyone supporting
our local towns and businesses.”
The
Monmouth County Division of Tourism will also be offering new programs and
resources for the summer season.
One
program is the Monmouth County Beach Public Safety dashboard. Monmouth County was
the first County in the United States to utilize this dashboard. This dashboard
provides a free public safety tool to residents and visitors with
up-to-the-minute details about aquatic risks, wave height, water temperature,
UV index, surf reports and more. This dashboard is 100% free to the public, and
accessible from any device at www.MonmouthCountyBeaches.com.
Another
program is the Brewed & Distilled in Monmouth program. This program assists
in the promotion of Monmouth County’s wineries, distilleries and breweries.
The
County created a website that houses all the locations of Monmouth County’s
craft beverage businesses with a direct link to the businesses’ website and
social media pages for Brewed & Distilled, where we share content from our
partners that include events, new product releases and specials. For more information
about this program, visit www.brewedanddistilledinmonmouth.com.
For more information about Monmouth County happenings, go to tourism.visitmonmouth.com and follow Monmouth County Tourism on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
SPRING LAKE, NJ – Elected
officials and tourism partners gathered at the North End Pavilion to launch the
2023 summer tourism season where Bill McKim of Belmar was honored for winning the 2023 Monmouth
County Travel Guide cover photo contest. (Left to right: Monmouth County Sheriff
Shaun Golden, Asbury Park City Manager Donna Vieiro, New Jersey Assemblywoman
Victoria Flynn, Asbury Park Councilwoman Eileen Chapman, photo contest winner Bill
McKim, Spring Lake Mayor Jennifer Naughton, New Jersey Assemblywoman Marilyn Piperno,
Monmouth County Commissioner Susan M. Kiley, Monmouth County Commissioner
Director Thomas A. Arnone, Monmouth County Clerk Christine G. Hanlon, Monmouth
County Commissioner Ross F. Licitra and Monmouth County Commissioner Deputy
Director Nick DiRocco) Photo Courtesy of Monmouth County Government.
SPRING
LAKE, NJ –Monmouth County Commissioner
Director Thomas A. Arnone, liaison to the Division of Tourism, reported 2022
visitor spending information, last summer’s beach revenues and employment statistics
for summer 2022 during the 2023 summer tourism kick-off press conference held
at the North End Pavilion. Photo Courtesy of Monmouth County Government.
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