Tourists, Shore business owners facing an unsettled summer

The Hilton Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City is giving away $2,500 gas cards to 50 table and slots players this month. The Angel of the Sea bed and breakfast in Cape May is offering an "economic stimulus package," which includes a free dinner at a local restaurant and a bottle of champagne.

High gas prices and the economy are on the minds of both anxious Jersey Shore business owners and cost-conscious tourists as the official start of summer - the July 4th weekend - begins.

Beachgoers are thinking twice about their visits - planning shorter stays, skipping day trips, and spending less money.

In 2007, tourism statewide generated $38 billion - much of that Shore revenue. While it's too early to project this summer's economic outlook at the Shore, business owners are getting creative on ways to "retrain guests" on how to spend - especially during the week.

"This is probably the first time I've ever considered not taking a day trip or overnight trip because of the price of gas. I'm coming down less frequently and adding $140 I know it's going to cost both ways to fill up the van," said Stephanie Mossip of Collegeville, Pa., who sat with her two children on a bench along a breezy and quiet Ocean City boardwalk earlier this week.

Sarah Breen, a South Jersey mother of three, said she sacrificed her family's car comfort in favor of saving money at the pump. The family traveled to Ocean City this week in their Saturn instead of their larger Dodge truck.

Michelle Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, said her office was working with local businesses to find ways to keep people coming to the Shore.

"We know that midweek is the weakest part of our summer. Last year, as an initiative, we looked at those trends and encouraged the business community to take advantage and have specials. It's part of retraining guests to come down," Gillian said.

Diane Wieland, director of tourism for Cape May County, where $5.1 billion was generated last year, has seen a change in tourist habits since Memorial Day.

"What we found was that Memorial Day weekend, Friday was slow, Saturday picked up but the visitor came and decided not spend Friday night," said Weiland, who noted that in previous years tourists would make it a four-day weekend.

The weak U.S. dollar and tourist bargains are luring visitors from Canada who are staying for 10 days or longer, she said.

"That's going to help carry the midweek slump," Wieland said.

At Cape May's Angel of the Sea bed and breakfast, general manager Sharon Falkowski came up with the idea of a weekday economic-stimulus package to help her business.

"We just started it this week and have already had two people book the package, so it does look like it's working. We had a much better June this year. Our July is currently a little behind. We've never done packages during the summer months, so this is the first. . . . You can see it around town. I think traffic is a little off. It's fuel costs, the economy, food prices are going up," Falkowski said.

Pat Fallelli, general manager of the family run Tahiti Inn along the Ocean City boardwalk, said the summer tourism season has gotten shorter over the years. The big rush to the beach used to begin on Memorial Day, now it's the Fourth of July.

"More and more people from Philadelphia, Delaware and North Jersey are discovering that, 'Hey, there is a lot to do, there is a lot to be done close to home as opposed to having to buy an airline ticket and fly down to Florida or fly out to Disneyland,' " he said.

Shore Realtors are seeing the benefits of the economic crunch that's keeping people closer to home.

"Everything is actually moving quicker. A lot of people are making last-minute rentals," said Chris Henderson, owner of Henderson Realty in Wildwood.

"The gas shortage, in my opinion, is affecting us in a positive way. I think that's because people are deciding to take shorter trips. We are only a tank away from about 25 to 30 percent of the country's population," she added.

In Atlantic City, where the casinos and tourism brought in $13 billion in revenue last year, the gaming halls are finding new ways to lure cash-strapped tourists.

The Atlantic City Hilton Hotel & Casino on July 27 will give out 50 gas cards, each valued at $2,500, to patrons on the casino floor.

In a prepared statement to The Inquirer, spokesman Brian Cahill noted the difficulties the Hilton and other casinos were facing.

"We see a decrease in business volume year over year resulting from a combination in increase in regional competition, rising fuel costs and the poor economy," Cahill said, noting the casino is optimistic about the summer and is offering free concerts, vacation packages and giveaways to increase tourism.

Farther down the Boardwalk, the staff at Hooter's restaurant at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino is also seeing a drop in profits.

"We're down from last year and definitely feeling it. Everyone I talk to in the rest of the casino, they're just not seeing as many people coming into town as there used to be," said Hooter's manager Kevin Wiener.

Waitress Heather Thomas said the tips were fewer.

"What normally is an $8 or $9 tip is now a $3 to $4 tip even though they had the same service. It's just they're holding onto their money right now," she said.

Thomas said she and her friends were finding ways to cut costs.

"My friends get a house down in Sea Isle every year, but now they drive down and stay for five days and walk everywhere. If it's not within walking distance, they don't make it out because they don't want to spend the extra money on gas. They have wave runners and jet skis, stuff like that, and they can't even fill the tanks right now," she said.