BELMAR, N.J. (AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie is paying a visit to the shore to promote summer tourism in New Jersey one week after the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

Gov. Chris Christie
Gov. Chris Christie at a press conference in Belmar on Friday, May 29, 2015. (Tim Larsen, Governor's Office)
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Christie kicked off the summer season Friday with a press conference in Belmar.

He says Belmar is one of the first municipalities to receive funding from the Department of Environmental Protection's Flood Hazard Risk Reduction grant program. The nearly $6.2 million will help fund a discharge piping system for Lake Como.

He'll also take a walk down the boardwalk in Point Pleasant Beach.

Christie was out of state speaking at a Republican gathering in Oklahoma City last week ahead of Memorial Day weekend.

Christie says he's optimistic the Jersey shore has recovered the visitors it lost during the first summer following Superstorm Sandy.

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