By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Jennifer McIver knows from experience as Sea Isle City’s chief financial officer that rainy weather and beach tag sales are not a good mix.
“I think I read somewhere that since January, there were 18 weekends with some form of rain. The weather hasn’t been our friend,” McIver said.
As a result, Sea Isle’s beach tag sales so far this year are down slightly compared to 2022. Through June 1, total beach tag revenue was $912,720, a 4.5 percent decline compared to $955,845 for the same period last year, McIver said.
“It’s just been the weather,” she said. “If it hasn’t been the rain, it’s been the cold.”
McIver is far from being alarmed, expressing confidence that both the weather and beach tag sales will be more favorable as the pivotal summer tourism season unfolds in Sea Isle.
“I still think we’re going to have a great summer. I still think that people are going to come,” she said in an interview Wednesday.
Year after year, beach tag revenue is a closely watched economic indicator of the strength of the vacation season at the shore.
In Sea Isle, beach tags are required from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day weekend. However, the city continues to generate revenue in the off-season months through the sale of special, holiday-themed beach tags during the Christmas shopping season and then for St. Patrick’s Day.
Revenue generated by beach tag sales is an important source of funding. It covers the cost of keeping the beaches clean, collecting the trash, employing lifeguards and hiring summer police officers. The revenue also helps to pay for the city’s beach replenishment projects.
Normally, Sea Isle generates about $1.4 million in annual beach tag sales. The city’s all-time record for beach tag sales was set in 2015 with $1,471,321 in revenue. This year the city has projected slightly under $1.4 million in beach tag sales as part of the 2023 municipal budget.
In addition to the weather, beach tag sales can also be affected by inflationary pressures on the tourism market. Last year, shore communities faced the challenge of attracting vacationers during a summer that included record-high gas prices that climbed above $5 per gallon in June and inflation hitting a new 40-year high.
McIver said she believes that Sea Isle’s difficulty in hiring beach tag inspectors may have depressed revenue somewhat last summer.
Sea Isle and other New Jersey shore communities struggled to fill some of their summer positions in 2022 while competing with higher-paying jobs offered by private companies and also contending with a workforce shortage overall.
However, Sea Isle has added a few more inspectors this summer to walk the beaches and check for tags. There are also inspectors stationed at most of the beach entranceways along the Promenade to check for tags, McIver said.
“In that respect, we should be OK,” she said of having more beach tag inspectors.
Sea Isle’s beachgoers have their choice of buying seasonal ($25), weekly ($10) and daily ($5) tags. A discounted rate of $20 for seasonal tags was offered up until May 15.
“As long as we get good weather, I think we’ll be OK,” McIver said of beach tag sales for the rest of the summer.
Children under 12 are allowed on the beaches for free. Sea Isle also gives out free seasonal tags to military veterans and complimentary weekly tags to qualified active duty military members and their family.
More information on beach tags is available at Welcome to the Official Website of Sea isle city, NJ – Beach Tag (seaislecitynj.us)
