Lifeguards keep their eyes on bathers during a busy July 6 day.
By MADDY VITALE
Record-setting beach tag sales and parking revenue so far this year in Ocean City are strong indicators that “America’s Greatest Family Resort” just may be heading toward a banner summer.
The beaches are packed. The weather has been steamy inland and vacationers are flocking to the island to enjoy cool breezes and cooler temps.
“The beach tags and parking operations are both off to good starts this summer. The town has been very busy so far, and the weather has been great,” Frank Donato, Ocean City’s chief financial officer, told OCNJDaily.com.
Donato said that as of the end of May, beach tags sales, “were almost a mirror image of 2023 at about $3.1 million."
Parking revenue was up as well. Donato emphasized that typically how the city does in May makes for a good indicator for what the summer will shape up to be like, robust or not.
“As you know, the end of May is the end of the seasonal discount period, which is always a good benchmark,” he explained. “From that point forward, though, the activity has been record-setting.”
He added, "Parking has also been going hand-in-hand with beach tags.”
As of June 30, the city's parking revenue was up about $100,000 over 2023, which is about a 10 percent increase so far, Donato said.
The water temps have been cooler, giving visitors more reasons to take a dip.
Discounted seasonal tags are $30. The discounted rate ended on May 31. Seasonal tags are $35. Weekly beach tags are $20 and daily tags are $10.
In 2023, the city increased the prices for beach tags. The daily rates doubled from $5 to $10, for example.
When the increases were approved, Donato spoke about it at a City Council meeting in October of 2022, noting the importance of the beach tag revenue.
The revenue helps the city keep taxes stable by helping to pay for additional costs in beach maintenance, replenishment costs, and lifeguard salaries, Donato said.
Last year, despite fewer sales of beach tags, the increase in prices for the beach tags boosted revenue in 2023.
Donato said the city is definitely on a good path for a strong summer season for beach tag sales and parking revenue.
"June finished $390,000 higher than last June," he said. "Fourth of July week was about a $58,000 increase over the same week in 2023."
He attributed some of the resort’s success, in part, to the hot, mostly rain-free weather.
“June didn’t see a lot of rain, which we think helped,” Donato said of strong sales of beach tags.
He also said that on the Juneteenth national holiday, which was Monday, June 19, the island was bustling with beachgoers and Boardwalk strollers.
“We saw crowds on Juneteenth in town that rivaled the Fourth of July, where we set a mid-week record for tag sales on the beach,” Donato said.
Ocean City has had beach tags since 1976 and they are required from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
Ocean City is among the top New Jersey shore towns in beach tag sales because of its sheer size. The city’s 7-mile-long beachfront is much bigger than neighboring towns, allowing it to handle enormous summer crowds that can swell to about 150,000 people, compared to the year-round population of about 11,200.
For more information, visit the city’s website at ocnj.us.
Lifeguards keep their eyes on bathers.
