2009 Cape May County Tourism Conference
Just returned from the "tourism conference" held in Cape May Courthouse today, May 5, 2009. This conference, "a forum for the tourism industry" (which real estate happens to play an expanding role due to sales and rentals ... and its impact on just about every other tourist-related business), had as its theme this year" "Is Cape May County's Tourism Industry Recession Proof?"
The keynote speaker for the conference was the New Jersey Secretary of State, Nina Mitchell Wells who shared the state's latest research. Diane Wieland, Director of the Cape May County Departmet of Tourism (CMCDOT) provided attendees with a booklet containing the county's current visitor research obtained through surveys conducted in-house. The 2009 CmCDOT Booklet also includes local, regional, and national research and trends applicable to local business concerns and challenges. Weiland stated that "the annual conference on tourism allows our department to share qualified research and information with the county's businesses and tourism officials ... Cape May County has the highest reliance on tourism in the State of New Jersey, moving to the top spot with 49 percent of the economy dependent on the tourism industry."
Weiland with several other tourism experts participated in a panel to discuss the business of the local tourism industry. Joe Molineaux of the NJ Small Business Development Center discussed small business loans for the tourism industry and Dr. Richard Perniciaro of the Center for Regional and Business Research provided insight into the tourism business activities for 2009.
"Cape May and Atlantic counties continue to hold first and second place in total tourism dollars generated from 21 counties in New Jersey. Between the two regions, $16.8 billion is generated, representing 43.5 percent of the total tourism dollars raised in the entire state. Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties combined contribute three-fifths of New Jersey's total tourism expenditures." (The Sandpaper 5/1/2009)
Let me add just a few personal observations from my attendance at the tourism conference. It was a well attended workshop with about 150+ participants from business, real estate, local government, etc. Cape May County covers Ocean City in the north and Upper Township on the mainland across 34th Street all the way down to Cape May and Cape May Point.
I received so much interesting and useful information that I have decided to put it into at least one more posting tomorrow. Stay tuned. Dap
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