We know that Labor Day is right around the corner and summer is about gone.
But there’s still time to have some last-minute fun.
If you vacation closer to home, you’ll be doing everyone in the state a huge favor. Tourism spending in the state is big business.
According to visitnj.org, 110 million visitors spent $44.7 billion last year. Tourism also supports 9.8 percent of all New Jersey jobs.
In 2018, tourism generated $5 billion in state and local tax revenues.
In other words, all of those trips to the Shore, parks, golf courses, boardwalks and other places around the state really add up.
Tourism dollars have a significant ripple effect in local economies as well. Think of all of the different areas touched by tourism. There are travel expenses that include everything from gas to rental cars. Local restaurants will feed people. Stores will sell food, souvenirs and other goods. People have to have somewhere to stay. And tourism-specific businesses thrive, too, when tourists sail, play golf or ride a horse.
Those businesses, in turn, depend on other businesses for supplies and services.
Their employees, too, spend their paychecks in local communities, sup-
porting businesses that often have no direct ties to tourism.
So, as the summer begins to wind down, keep in mind you still have an opportunity to get out of the house for a few days of rest and relaxation before the real world kicks in again in a few weeks.
So why not spend that time – and money – close to home? There’s no doubt you can find plenty of awesome things to do here in your home state, and, while you’re enjoying yourself, you’ll be doing a lot to support local economies and New Jersey workers.
Need an idea or two? Take a cyber trip to visitnj.org. The group has
a bunch of ideas – at least one of which, we’d bet, is perfect for you.
