Strong Visitor Expenditures and Fifth Year of Increased Tourist Visits Accelerate Garden State Tourism in 2014

 

TRENTON, N.J. – At today’s 2015 New Jersey Conference on Tourism in Atlantic City, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno announced that 2014 proved to be an exceptional year for New Jersey’s tourism industry. Overall tourism-related demand generated a record-breaking $42.1 billion, a 3.8 percent increase over 2013. Visitation in New Jersey also rose to 93.2 million in 2014, a 4.4 percent increase compared to 2013.

“With the Jersey Shore as the mainstay of our tourism industry, our challenge has been to broaden our vision and spread the word about the countless other, often lesser-known, tourist and recreational opportunities in New Jersey,” said Acting Governor Guadagno. “The news from across the State is great: our non-Shore counties now account for 51.2 percent of all tourism spending. In 2014, 20 of 21 counties saw an increase in tourism industry sales. Together, we are showing our residents, the nation and the world that there are opportunities for enjoyment in every part of this great state.”

Hosted by the New Jersey Tourism Industry Association (NJTIA), the annual Conference on Tourism brings industry representatives together for educational sessions, networking and information on industry trends and best practices.

“Tourism in our state is extremely vibrant,” said NJTIA President Sharon Franz, the Sales & Marketing Director at Steel Pier in Atlantic City. “Couple that with the variety of our attractions and destinations, and it becomes easy and enjoyable to find outstanding work being done in the industry.”

According to The Economic Impact of Tourism in New Jersey Report released today by the Department of State’s Division of Travel and Tourism, New Jersey’s travel and tourism industry directly supports 315,952 jobs. When combined with indirect and induced jobs, tourism sustained nearly 508,000 jobs, approximately 10 percent of all jobs in New Jersey.

Other highlights of the annual tourism report include:

• Tourism generated $36.4 billion of state GDP in 2014, or 6.6 percent of the entire state economy.
• Gloucester, Salem and Union Counties saw double-digit percent increases in tourism sales over 2013.
• 2014 marked the fifth straight year of growth in visits, with a more than 40 percent increase in visits since 2009.

The Economic Impact of Tourism in New Jersey Report, prepared by Tourism Economics, can be found in its entirety at http://www.visitnj.org/.

View acting Governor Guadagno’s remarks from the Conference.