N.J. image takes toll on Shore tourism
Published in the Asbury Park Press 10/21/04
By WILLIAM CONROY
BUSINESS WRITER
WILDWOOD -- The Jersey Shore suffers from the negative image that New Jersey has
around the country, the head of a national marketing strategy company hired by the state said
yesterday.
That is one of the reasons why the state ranks ninth among tourist destinations in the
United States in annual revenue yet is not among the first 30 destinations in the country
mentioned when people list places they'd like to visit, said Sanford Keziah, president of
Kindred Keziah Inc.
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Keziah said the Shore's reputation as a tourist destination nationally suffers from
familiar stereotypes about New Jersey: that it is a breeding ground for mobsters, congested
with traffic and overrun with pollution.
Keziah gave his report at the second of three "Summits on the Shore," meetings on how to
improve tourism in the coastal counties of Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic and Cape May.
The good news from a survey and focus groups conducted this year among 5,000 people is that
many tourists who actually visit the Shore have a better experience than the state's
reputation suggests, Keziah said.
In focus groups, many longtime Shore visitors were so affected by the state's bad image
that they were defensive about their choice, saying the reason they went was that it was
"close to home" or that the particular town they visited was not like the rest of New Jersey,
Keziah said.
Some of the anonymous comments about towns by those interviewed, Keziah said, included:
Ocean Grove: "It's a living museum experience."
Belmar: "Fun, hot and a little dirty."
Seaside Heights: "Fun, laughter, silliness."
Many said they didn't spread the word much about their favorite Shore spots: To do so might
spoil towns' distinctive qualities, Keziah said. The state should promote the diversity of its
Shore towns, he said.
Skimpy tourism budget
However, it is difficult for the Shore to create a better "brand" perception when the state
spends $5.7 million annually on its tourism marketing budget while states such as Florida are
spending $50 million a year, Keziah said.
Gov. McGreevey said during the summit that state government needs to reorganize its efforts
to promote the $30 billion-a-year industry better.
As a first step, he proposed changing the name of the state Commerce and Economic Growth
Commission to the state Commerce, Economic Growth and Tourism Commission.
This would be more than a "cosmetic name change," the governor said. It and a change in the
commission's mission statement to include that "it is charged with the mandate to increase
tourism through promotional, informational and developmental programs" will underline
government's commitment to the state's second-largest industry (behind pharmaceuticals),
McGreevey said.
The governor offered no details, beyond the name and mission statement change, about how
the commission would be reorganized to help tourism.
The first of the three summits was held in June in Asbury Park. The third is scheduled for
the first quarter of 2005 in Atlantic City.
Proposal to lawmakers
McGreevey said he had sent his proposal to the Legislature and hopes it will be voted on
Dec. 17.
"I'm hoping it is more than just a word in a title," said Barbara W. Steele, Ocean County
tourism representative and the county director of public affairs.
The executive director of the Office of Travel and Tourism does not report directly to the
secretary of the Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, which reduces the director's ability
to get things done, Steele said. She would prefer that the director report directly.
Years ago, Travel and Tourism was a state division, a higher designation that gave it a
higher profile and made it more effective, Steele said. It should be at the highest level of
the Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, she added.
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