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Following a busy Fourth of July weekend, New Jersey officials are confident the state is heading for a strong summer tourism season.
The state tourism office said the Jersey Shore region reported a “noticeable increase” in tourism in the days surrounding the holiday, with hotels in Monmouth and Ocean counties seeing up to 95% occupancy and Airbnb bookings reaching 100%.
The department noted that apart from the beaches, there were several other events around the Fourth of July that attracted tourists.
The Meadowlands has hosted Copa America games at MetLife Stadium and the Meadowlands State Fair, plus American Dream welcomed Gotham Roller Derby to its retail and entertainment complex.
The FIFA World Cup 26 New York and New Jersey Host Committee hosted a youth soccer match for hundreds of area players at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford on July 10. The event took place after the Copa America 2024 semi-final match between Argentina and Canada. – Courtesy of the FIFA World Cup 2026 New York and New Jersey Host Committee
Further north in Sussex County, resorts including Mountain Creek (over 150%) and St. Moritz Grill & Bar (over 20%) are reporting significant visitor increases over last year, with surrounding resorts and campgrounds near full capacity.
“We saw an incredible number of tourists come out over the Fourth of July weekend to experience all that our state has to offer,” said Jeff Vassar, executive director of the state Travel and Tourism Department.
“Thanks to the continued efforts of our businesses and partners who are committed to serving the local community and visitors, we are optimistic about a strong upcoming summer season,” Vassar said, adding, “With Labor Day weekend approaching and popular state and county festivals, we expect this momentum to continue into the fall.”
Continued growth
The strong numbers are in line with a recent report released by the state, which showed tourist visitation was up 5% from last year and 4% from 2019.
State officials said a continued recovery in visitor numbers and spending in 2023 will see the tourism industry finally surpass pre-pandemic levels and expect growth to continue this year.
Mark your calendars:
Click here to see Atlantic City’s summer schedule.
A total of 120.5 million tourists are expected to visit New Jersey in 2023 and spend more than $49.1 billion during their trip, according to the New Jersey Travel and Tourism Office.
Last year, tourism generated a total economic impact of $78.3 billion in New Jersey. According to the report, tourism generated $5.2 billion in state and local tax revenue. Additionally, tourism supports more than 501,000 workers, representing 8.3 percent of the state’s total employment.
In 2024, the state projects 124.23 million visitors and $51.4 billion in spending, while total state and local taxes generated from visitor-supported activities are projected to increase to $5.3 million.
After this year, the state expects visitor numbers to reach 126.6 million in 2025 and 130.3 million in 2026. Spending is expected to grow to $53.1 billion in 2025 and $55.7 billion in 2026.
