Latest news with #GreaterWildwoodsTourismImprovementandDevelopmentAuthority
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
The Canadians no longer visit down the shore — but why'd they come here in the first place?
Avalon Campground in Cape May Court House was a top destination for Canadians who were regular summer visitors to the Jersey Shore starting in the 1970s. (Beach photo courtesy of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority) Last week while in Avalon, I stopped at the Cape May County Habitat for Humanity to look for deck furniture. I didn't find any, but while looking through used books and sofa sectionals, I found a mug featuring a maple leaf. 'Eh?' it also read in an equally bold red. A Canadian mug in a South Jersey Shore second-hand store might seem like an oddity, but it's becoming an artifact of another time and a signifier of the once-strong-but-now-fraying relationship between this part of New Jersey and Canada. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian car trips into the United States this March are down almost 32% compared to March of last year. Things don't look better for the summer either. According to a New York Times analysis, summer plane ticket sales from Canada to the U.S. are down 21%. If this winter's dip in Canadian snowbirds flying to Florida (and selling their Florida properties) is any indication, the Jersey Shore, particularly Cape May County, could see a similar drop. But in all the 'will they or won't they' coverage I've seen about the issue this year, I noticed one thing left out: why Canadians — in particular French Canadians — came here in the first place. Like the drive from Quebec to Wildwood, it's a long and sometimes winding journey. In the 1950s and 1960s, South Jersey Shore towns were in trouble. Where they were once the only place people could go to escape stifling summer heat, the advent of air conditioning and swimming pools meant that relief could be found close to home instead — no long train or car ride required. Atlantic City turned to gambling. Cape May County? French Canadians. In 1970, Quebec legislated a two-week holiday for all construction workers for the end of July, a move that rippled out beyond the industry, with many residents of the province also taking that block of time off for summer vacation. Les Quebecois were also, theoretically, one day's drive away, so starting in 1968, the county pitched them on better beaches, warmer water, and cheap accommodations in motels and rooming houses in Wildwood and in campgrounds that lined Route 9 just inland of beach towns like Sea Isle, Avalon, Stone Harbor, and the Wildwoods. In 1970, Cape May County opened a tourism office in downtown Montreal to further bind the regions. In 1973, a tourism official told The New York Times that they spent 75% of its promotional budget to attract Canadians. By the mid-1970s, the Canadians had taken over. Motels in the Wildwoods gave themselves names like Canadian and Quebec Motel, and venues booked Canadian stars like singer, radio, and television host Michel Louvain and Lousie-Marie Houde, a.k.a. Mademoiselle Quebec. In 1977, Atlantic City hosted Quebec Day to thank their Canadian visitors, with a flag raising, cocktail party, concert, and fashion show featuring Quebec-based artists. 'Two weeks after the Fourth of July, cars were backed out all the way to Route 9 to see if we had campsites,' said Lenny Catanoso, 74, who until last year owned Avalon Campground in Cape May Court House with his sister Marlene. Their parents opened the business in 1967, and they were teenagers working there when the influx of Canadians started coming in. For part of July, 'every car in town was Canadian. I haven't seen anything like it,' said Larry Lillo, 77, Wildwood Historical Society secretary and owner of the Holly Beach Train Depot. Lillo has also held a gamut of jobs during his lifetime in Wildwood, including ice cream salesman, lifeguard, and firefighter. 'It wasn't just the mother and father and the kids. It was the grandmother, aunts, and uncles. The whole gang would come down and stay in apartment houses here,' he said. I saw it too, as a kid who spent all of her summers in the 1980s and 1990s in Avalon Campground. While my family's summer place is now in Avalon proper, we were there then for the same reasons as the Canadians: It was more affordable than on-island accommodations and offered more things to do for large family groups that might include parents and kids but also grandparents, cousins, and that guy who isn't really your uncle but that's what you call him. For the last two weeks of July and the first two weeks of August, 75% of the campground's bookings were French Canadians, according to Lenny Cataonoso. You could see it — and hear it. The U.S., New Jersey, and Canadian flags all flew at the campground pools (where, yes, you could usually tell who was Canadian by their penchant for Speedo bathing suits). When it came time for me to pick a language to study in middle and then high school, I picked French, not because I had young girl dreams of Paris, but because I thought it would help me get a summer job down the shore when I was old enough to do so. I never got the chance. By the time I was old enough to work, the Canadian dollar plummeted in value, and the parade of Quebec license plates coming down the shore just about stopped. Marlene Catanoso, 72, remembers her father working the phones, offering regular Canadian visitors half-price tent spots. The Cape May County Montreal office closed in 1995. The relationship hasn't entirely died out, though. Gen X and Millenial Canadians come back so their kids can have the same kind of magical Jersey Shore experience they had when they were younger. Cape May County still has a French language website and Facebook and Instagram accounts, and the county tourism department has a public relations consultant focusing on Quebec and the Toronto region of Ottawa. Before the pandemic, about 8% of Cape May County visitors were from Quebec. Marlene Catanoso said that older Canadian visitors stopped coming to their campground during the first Trump term, but COVID had a much bigger impact. 'For two years, we had a campground that was half empty,' she said. It wasn't just that the Canadian border was closed, but accommodations in the area shifted to attract locals who didn't want to travel either. To cope, Avalon Campground converted sites that once had bare-bones amenities with tent campers in mind and upgraded them with sewer, water, and better power, in order to accommodate RVs, campers, and mobile homes — and charging for it. Diane Weiland of Cape May County's tourism department insisted that other factors, like the value of the Canadian dollar and a stagnant Canadian economy, are playing a bigger role in keeping the Canadians up north this summer than political discontent (though she did note that the Canadian Automobile Association has declined to run their ads; and Canadian news outlets won't be covering U.S. destinations this year). But she believes the region will be OK, as local business owners have said that American travelers have been picking up Canadian cancellations. So, as the unofficial opening of the summer begins, and more restaurants, bakeries, bike shops, and arcades open for the season, we don't know what will happen. But it's hard to see how this more than half-century relationship can repaired, at least during this administration, when the president insists that Canada is going to be the 51st state, pushes punitive tariffs on Canadian goods at who knows what whim, and eggs on the imprisonment of foreign travelers for things like a visa mix up, translation mistake or having tattoo equipment. If I were Canadian, I wouldn't come here. Heck, I'm an American with a beach house and don't know if I want to be here this summer. I guess we'll see, eh? SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
CBS News
14-05-2025
- CBS News
Wildwood, New Jersey, will have new safety measures for 2025 summer after last year's state of emergency
Wildwood to have new safety measures for 2025 summer after last year's state of emergency Wildwood to have new safety measures for 2025 summer after last year's state of emergency Wildwood to have new safety measures for 2025 summer after last year's state of emergency The countdown is on, and we are only days away from many families packing up the car and heading down the Jersey Shore for the busy Memorial Day weekend. "We're super excited and trying to get ready," said Yassin Saleh, who works at Gifts Buy The Shore on the boardwalk. Saleh and his co-workers were stocking shelves and preparing for the influx of people, as the city of Wildwood announced new safety measures ahead of the unofficial start to summer. "People can really expect when they bring their families to the Wildwood boardwalk that they are well taken care of and well watched," said Louis Belasco, executive director of the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority. The city says new surveillance cameras have been strategically placed on the boardwalk, which will allow for real-time monitoring. Protective bollards have also been installed to prevent unauthorized vehicles from getting onto the boardwalk, and police will enforce a 10 p.m. curfew for minors. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. The changes come after last year's civil unrest and crowds of unruly teens over the holiday weekend. The city declared a state of emergency and shut down the boardwalk for several hours. "It's not a happy situation when that stuff happens, you know it's not good for anybody," said Anthony Zuccarello at Sam's Pizza Palace on the boardwalk. Police say lighting has also been added under the boardwalk, and officers will expand their presence to ensure everyone's safety. "I think it's going to calm the crowd down a little bit, we hope," Zuccarello said. "It's a family-oriented town so you want to make sure when you bring your family down you feel safe you want to be able to come out and enjoy yourself so definitely good features," Amy Lynch said.
CBS News
22-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Partial lineup for Wildwood New Jersey's Thunder Over the Waves Airshow announced
Over 400,000 aviation enthusiasts are expected to take over the beaches in Wildwood, New Jersey, as the Thunder Over the Waves Airshow makes its debut this September. The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority (GWTIDA), along with David Schultz Airshows, said the two-day show will feature 11 headlining acts and kick off on Sept. 5. The first day of the airshow, Sept. 5, will be a practice day, while Sept. 6, will be the main event, GWTIDA announced in a news release Friday. The airshow will be four hours long and feature flyovers by the NJ Air National Guard, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, and Dover Air Force Base, and performances by the Fighter Jets Inc. MIG-17PF Jet Team, ACEMAKER Solo Aerobatic Demos in the T-33 Shooting Star, Jerry Conley in the DH-115 Vampire Jet, plus many more awe-inducing aerobatic performances, according to GWTIDA. Guests can also witness incredible appearances by the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and the U.S. Coast Guard. Event organizers said the airshow is expected to boost the local economy and extend the Wildwoods' tourism season from the summer into the fall, according to GWTIDA. While the event lineup is subject to change, here is the current timeline for the 2025 Thunder Over the Waves Airshow per GWTIDA: But the Thunder Over the Waves Airshow isn't the only summertime event making headlines this week. Recently, Visit Atlantic City announced the city's airshow is back on after officials said last year the event was canceled. "We are reimagining this event and incorporating a festival concept. It's different than the larger airshow we put on in 2023," said Karina Anthony, the executive director of marketing for Visit Atlantic City. Visit Atlantic City will fund their new show, which will now be called the Visit Atlantic City Soar & Shore Festival. Visit AC will partner with Herb Gillen Airshows for the big event.
