Tourism is growing throughout the Garden State

With the Memorial Day holiday — the unofficial start to the summer season — right around the corner, the New Jersey Business and Industry Association has released a report on tourism in the Garden State.

“Tourism in New Jersey plays a significant role in the state’s broader economy, providing each and every county with tens of thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in sales,” said association president Michele Siekerka.

The Economic Impact of Tourism in New Jersey report, based on data collected from the state Division of Travel and Tourism, finds tourism sales grew in 20 of the state’s 21 counties in 2016.

Siekerka said while lots of tourists enjoy Jersey Shore attractions during the spring, summer and fall, “our tourism in New Jersey expands beyond the shore.

"In fact Passaic County saw the biggest growth in tourism sales, increasing by 5.7 percent, and Mercer County wasn’t far behind, with an increase of 5.5 percent," Siekerka said.

She stressed “tourism is a significant driver for New Jersey’s economy. It’s one of our largest growth sectors.”

She said it's important to grow assets such as job creation that tourism offers. She said lodging, food, beverage and retail sectors account for the lion’s share of tourism dollars in the state.

She added 98 million people visited New Jersey last year and spent over $41 billion — and "we expect this to continue to grow.”

“We’re anticipating in 2020, 108 million tourists are expected to visit New Jersey. That’s going to account for almost $50 billion in sales," she said.

She said in our state “tourism is the sixth-largest private sector employer, providing over 321 thousand jobs directly, and that doesn’t even take into consideration all of the indirect jobs that are created as well.”

You can contact reporter David Matthau at David.Matthau@townsquaremedia.com.