PLANS FOR THE JERSEY SHORE
On beach maintenance, many feel the state should pick up the cost
New Jersey residents’ opinion of their state as a vacation destination has been declining
for more than a decade, according to the latest Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey
Poll. Still, 6-in-10 Garden State residents plan on making an excursion down the Jersey Shore
this year, although paying beach fees remains a sticking point for most.
Half of New Jerseyans say that their home state is either an excellent (13%) or good
(37%) place to take a vacation. Another 34% rate New Jersey as only a fair vacation destination
and 14% say it is poor. This marks a continued decline in views of the state as a vacation spot.
The 50% who rate New Jersey positively for its vacation potential is nine points lower than it
was in 2003 (59%). This was also down from 65% in 1998 and 71% and 1994. Regionally, just
under half of North Jersey and Central Jersey residents rate the state positively as a place to take
a vacation – 48% in the north, down 6 points from 2003; and 46% in the central region, down 9
points from 2003. Positive ratings among South Jersey residents at 55% are slightly higher than
in the northern and central regions, but this is still 16 points lower than the 2003 poll.
Despite lower opinion of the state as a vacation destination, New Jerseyans plan on
spending about the same number of days down the shore this summer as they did back in a 1995
poll. The typical New Jersey resident plans on spending an average of 17 days down the Jersey
Shore this summer. This includes 11% who will spend basically the entire summer (at least 60
days) down the shore, 25% who will spend more than a week (8 to 60 days), and 31% who will
stay a total of seven or fewer days. Another 29% report they will not spend any time down the
shore this summer. The 17 day average shore visit is identical to the 17 day average measured
Please attribute this information to:
Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll
For more information:
Monmouth University Polling Institute
West Long Branch, NJ 07764
www.monmouth.edu/polling
Monmouth University Polling Institute 5/25/08
2
in a 1995 poll. However, this does not mean the patterns are exactly the same. For example, the
current survey’s average is higher because there are now more people who live down the shore
year round. Back in 1995, there were more people who planned on taking a vacation of more
than two weeks than there are today. In other words, New Jerseyans today are spending less of
their total vacation time down the shore than they did a decade ago.
Regionally, North Jersey residents will spend an average of 7 days down the shore,
Central Jerseyans 22 days, and South Jerseyans 31 days. The higher central and southern
numbers are due in large part to the number of people in those regions who live down the shore
year round.
After excluding year round residents from the results, the poll found income differences
in projected shore visits. Overall 68% of those earning over $100,000 and 63% of those in the
$50,000 to $100,000 bracket are planning some time down the shore, compared to 54% of those
earning less than $50,000.
“In recent years, the relative cost of taking a vacation out of state has made the shore a
less attractive destination,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling
Institute. “However, rising fuel prices may prompt people to stay closer to home this summer, as
long as the worsening economy doesn’t wipe out their vacation plans entirely.”
One unique cost factor associated with a Jersey Shore vacation is the necessity to buy
beach tags or pay a fee to gain access to many of the state’s beaches. Among those residents
who say they plan on going to the shore this summer, 45% say they usually go to a beach where
a fee is required, while 39% usually go to a fee-free beach and 8% go to both types of beaches
equally. Free beaches can be interpreted to include state and national park areas which require a
parking fee, but not a beach access fee, as well as private beach clubs. Residents of South Jersey
– which has a greater number of free beach options than the northern coastline – are somewhat
less likely than other New Jerseyans to say they usually go to a beach with a fee. It’s important
to note that only 12% of New Jersey shore visitors say they have never been to a pay beach.
The poll found that 1-in-5 shore visitors (20%) report having gone onto a Jersey beach
without paying the required fee. Another 65% say they always pay the required fee. Among
those who have not paid for beach access, 36% say they make a point of evading the fee, while
32% say there are simply no tag inspectors to collect the fee where they go.
“More than 30 years after beach tags began popping up in shore towns, access fees have
become a way of life in New Jersey. But that doesn’t mean we like paying them,” said Murray.
Monmouth University Polling Institute 5/25/08
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Only 30% of all New Jerseyans think that beachgoers should have to pay a fee to use
New Jersey’s beaches, while 65% disagree with this policy. Among shore visitors who generally
spread their blanket on a pay beach, 46% agree with the beach fee policy compared to a nearly
equal 47% who do not. Among those who seek out fee-free beaches, only 21% agree with the
beach tag policy, while 73% disagree.
One source of this opposition to beach fees could be a suspicion that these revenues are
not being used for their stated purpose – to maintain a local town’s beaches. Only 36% of New
Jersey residents believe these funds are being used for beach maintenance, while 42% think the
money is being used primarily to pay for other local services.
About half (49%) of New Jersey residents say that the state as a whole should pick up
most of the cost to maintain Jersey beaches, compared to 33% who feel that local towns should
shoulder the burden for their own piece of the coastline. Another 12% say the cost should be
shared equally between state and local governments.
The Monmouth University/Gannett New Jersey Poll was conducted by telephone with
803 New Jersey adults from April 24 to 28, 2008. This sample has a margin of error of + 3.5
percent. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute and originally
published by the Gannett New Jersey newspaper group (Asbury Park Press, Courier-Post,
Courier News, Daily Journal, Daily Record, and Home News Tribune).