Labor Day weekend gives Ocean City businesses a late summer boost as the holiday ends
OCEAN CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- The crowds are thinning in Ocean City as Labor Day weekend comes to an end. The long holiday weekend was one last hurrah for families.
As darkness fell over the boardwalk in Ocean city, families tried soaking up every last minute of Labor Day weekend.
"There's a bit of sadness because as the calendar moves we all move and get older and there's fewer opportunities for us to do this and that's why it was important for me to come here this year with my family," Mike Shukdinas said.
By Monday evening, the crowds thinned and the beach emptied out.
Rodney Hardy and his family stayed as long as they could before heading home to Philadelphia.
"As long as we could, but the kids gotta go back to school tomorrow, so we gotta make sure we get them back and ready, transition back into school, but it was good weather all the way around," Hardy said.
Earlier on Monday, the boardwalk and the beach were packed as families took it all in.
The warm sunny beach weather helped give businesses a late summer boost. With inflation, higher gas prices, and labor shortages, families still headed down the shore but early numbers show they didn't spend as much money.
"July and August are going to tell the story," Diane Wieland, of the Cape May County Department of Tourism, said. "We're hearing from our businesses that things are a little bit slower, however, we're still ahead of what we were in 2019."
As most people head back to school and work, Shukdinas is hanging around for another week, not ready to let summer end.
"Ocean City is a place where I took my kids when they were young and we're having a great time bringing my grandson here," Shukdinas said.
Many of these businesses will stay open after Labor Day, but they say they won't be as busy again until next year.
