Sponsored by:
Senator ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator BOB SMITH
District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Division of Travel and Tourism to promote Central Jersey, overnight stays, and agritourism; requires allocation of federal funds for tourism to certain regions and activities in need of economic relief.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning tourism funding and promotion in New Jersey and supplementing P.L.1977, c.225 (C.34:1A-45 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Any use of federal economic relief funds in support of tourism promotion shall be designed to primarily benefit regions and activities most in need of economic relief, using the percentage of tourism decline in those regions or activities as the basis for directing the spending of relief funds.
b. The Division of Travel and Tourism shall re-draw the State tourism map to create a “Central Jersey” region comprised, at a minimum of the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset, and to incorporate the “Central Jersey” region in all regional marketing activities, including in publications and on the VisitNJ.org website.
c. The division shall remove from its grant applications and contracts any requirement that State tourism grant funds be targeted to audiences located at a minimum distance, and shall promote overnight stays.
d. The division shall dedicate at least 10 percent of its annual appropriation to the promotion of agritourism, including visits to farms, craft beverage makers, farm-to-table restaurants, farmers’ markets, and agriculturally themed festivals.
2. This act shall take effect 90 days following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill concerns tourism funding and promotion in New Jersey.
Tourism is a significant part of New Jersey’s economic activity. New Jersey’s rich agricultural history, and the reason for its name, the Garden State, is worthy of more investment.
Any federal economic relief funds used by the division in support of tourism promotion will be used to benefit regions and activities most in need of economic relief after the COVID-19 crisis. The division will use the percentage of tourism decline in those regions or activities as the basis for how and where the relief funds are spent.
The division will re-draw the State tourism map to create a “Central Jersey” region, minimally including Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, and Somerset counties. The division will then incorporate the new “Central Jersey” region in all regional marketing activities, including in publications and on the VisitNJ.org website.
The division will eliminate any requirement from its grant applications and contracts that State tourism grant funds have to be targeted toward audiences located at a minimum distance from the awarded tourism site, and will include a flexible approach to promoting overnight stays. This will allow the State to attract visitors from other markets, such as New York City and Philadelphia.