OCEAN CITY — A review of the resort’s tourism and marketing budget last week touched off a debate about how much is enough when it comes to advertising Ocean City.
During a budget work session last Thursday, Tourism Director Donna Abbott outlined her proposed fiscal year 2018 spending plan fueled largely by the town’s 4.5 percent room tax. A few years ago, Ocean City dedicated 2 percent of its 4.5 percent room tax to marketing the resort and its special events and the advertising budget has grown as the number of visitors both in the peak season and the ever-expanding shoulder seasons has climbed.
During the work session last week, Abbott’s presentation showed the town’s room tax total for the peak season had climbed from $9.6 million in 2009 in steadily increasing increments to around $13 million last year. Based on a full calendar year, the figure has grown from around $11 million in 2009 to over $15 million last year.
During the session last Thursday, it was learned the latest figures for the month of February, which drew decent weekend crowds with unseasonably warm weather, showed room tax up nearly 13 percent compared to the same month last year, while the food and beverage tax had soared 35 percent during the month. Those impressive numbers led one councilman to question how long the town should keep dedicating the rising room tax totals to marketing.
“When we started dedicating 2 percent of the 4.5 percent of the room tax, I think our advertising budget was somewhere in the neighborhood of $3 million,” said Councilman Dennis Dare. “Now, it has tripled in three years. My question is how much is enough? What degree of effort do we need to make to effectively advertise Ocean City?”
Council Secretary and Tourism Committee Chair Mary Knight said those issues had been discussed at a cursory level and a true peak number should be in the conversation in the future.
“I’ve had some informal discussions with the person who runs our advertising company and we’ve had the same discussion about how much is enough,” she said. “The thought at this point is, whatever the number is, right now it’s $6.2 million, plus a cost of living increase every year just to make sure.”
Knight said the cost of advertising continues to increase and the town’s marketing budget should be nudged up in kind to ensure the same exposure.
“Last year during the election, the spots were much more expensive,” she said. “Once you reach the appropriate number, any additional funding over that number could be allocated to other special events just to keep everything robust.”
