Jersey Shore is ready for tourists, N.J. officials say

Bob Jordan, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press | USATODAY

TRENTON, N.J. — Tourism officials with tight marketing budgets in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy plan to use a website to tell visitors that the Jersey Shore is open for business.

The Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau's existing visitthejerseyshore.com domain will be expanded to allow people to search for open businesses by municipality.

"We are well into the recovery phase from Hurricane Sandy and the great majority of our retailers are open and back in business," said Robert Hilton, the bureau's executive director. "Getting the word out to the public that the Jersey Shore is open is key to helping our Shore businesses recover financially."

The website is a low-budget approach but officials have little choice: Legislation has been introduced post-Sandy in the state capitol to provide $20 million for tourism promotion, tripling the current state allocation, but its passage is uncertain. The measure has yet to be scheduled for committee hearings.

In 2010, state government spent $8.5 million to promote tourism, compared to Pennsylvania's $32.5 million marketing campaign and New York City's $16.5 million advertising blitz.

Val Reyes, operator of the Inn on Main in Manasquan and Atlantis Inn in Ocean City, N.J., said nothing less than a major advertising campaign will do.

"Tourism is TV-driven, not driven by a website," Reyes said. "It's got to be from TV advertising, TV news and newspapers. Neither of our locations suffered a scratch from the storm. We have remained open for business."

Reyes predicted uncertainty for tourists will result in last-minute bookings, rather than reservations being set months in advance.

"I'm looking forward to a great year in Ocean City because South Jersey survived very well. I think we'll have a good year in Manasquan, but it will depend if the other businesses and restaurants are ready," Reyes said.

The website is part of a Jersey Shore is Open for Business campaign with the New Jersey Restaurant Association and New Jersey Retail Merchants Association.

"One of the things we have learned from our hearings and tours is that many businesses have reopened, but people in the community and surrounding area do not know it," said state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, a Democrat from Gloucester, N.J. "It is bad enough that these places had to close during the storm but now they are losing business through virtually no fault of their own. This website is going to help correct that."