By MADDY VITALE
Preseason beach tag sales in Ocean City look to be a strong indicator of what’s to come for the 2021 summer season.
Visitors and residents will be flocking to the beaches to bask in the sun, swim in the ocean and enjoy the family-friendly resort. Seasonal beach tags are on sale for a discounted rate of $20 through May 31. Then the price goes up to $25.
And beachgoers are definitely taking advantage of the savings.
“So far, sales have been off to a great start,” Ocean City Chief Financial Officer Frank Donato said Monday.
While figures were not available for May yet, due to the number of locations and different ways that the city sells beach tags, April was a banner month.
“As of April 30, the city sold $969,000 in beach tags, which is probably the best April 30 total we’ve ever seen,” Donato said.
The latest figures show that visitors are eager to get back to the shore. In comparison to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, sales totaled $354,000 through April 30, 2020.
Donato pointed out that the low number of beach tag sales in 2020 “certainly was a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Yet, the figures for a successful summer, such as the one in 2019, still do not compare to the strong start to the 2021 season, he noted.
“Even at April 30, 2019, it was $730,000, so still a great head start over that season,” Donato said. “And May (2021) has certainly been busy so far, the mild temps and lack of rain has meant tons of visitors each weekend. So I expect we’ll see great numbers as of May 31, by the time we get a chance to tally up everything in the first part of June.”
Beach tags are available online at www.ocnj.us/beachtags and at locations throughout Ocean City.
