As we begin our first terms on the boards of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce and the Morris County Tourism Bureau, we are encouraged by the strength of our community, which is demonstrated in its amazing fundamental statistics.
Our economy is remarkably diversified and uncommonly productive — Morris County’s gross domestic product is larger than that of four U.S. states. The aggregate payroll across all industries makes the county the tenth highest earning in the nation.
Our schools are high-performing, and the 2020 U.S. Census reveals a staggering level of educational achievement — 57.1% of adults in the county have a bachelor’s or advanced degree, nearly twice the national average (36.9%).
Access to recreation and open space belies the state’s overall population density. Our healthcare infrastructure rivals communities much larger than ours. Participation in culture, history, and lifelong learning is remarkably robust.
All of these factors contribute to the region’s reputation as a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
Less well understood is the correlation of these same data points — the ones that earn our communities high scores on livability surveys — with the ingredients that make our region a desirable place to visit.
National studies reveal how attractive travel destinations rely on a similar combination of great people, places, and experiences. And our area has been hosting thousands of visitors from abroad and around the country for decades, with some drawn to history and culture, to farm and food experiences, and to a wide range of festivals. Together with business travel and visits to family and friends, tourism was estimated to contribute over $2.13 billion annually in 2016.
But how many of us consider Morris County’s potential as a tourist haven?
Here is what we are seeing in our own enterprises:
• At the Morris Museum, in Morris Township, we are a reliable cultural hub for locals, and also a major destination for tourists, culture vultures, and people passing through the area. More than half our visits are made by people who live outside Morris County. These guests come not only from every county around the Garden State, but over 1,000 of them last year were visiting from 47 US States and 22 foreign countries.
• Riamede Farm, in Chester Township, welcomes guests from across the tri-state area. While most of our visitors live in New Jersey, more than 2/3 of them come from outside Morris County. Agri-tourism provides a day away from the hustle and noise of everyday life and a chance to re-connect with our agricultural heritage.
These figures echo national investigation into how people are spending their leisure time and specifically how they crave authentic, high-quality experiences in welcoming, non-urban communities. Cities will always be cities, but they are no longer the only places to enjoy vibrant arts, distinctive farm-to-table dining, and memory-making family time. In fact, the opportunity to experience things at a human scale and at an unhurried pace are becoming the most treasured travel experiences globally.
The work to make our region better prepared to host cosmopolitan visitors from across the country and around the world has already begun.
We convened 25 leaders from hospitality, culture and history, transportation, and marketing from across the county earlier this month as we relaunched the county-wide tourism roundtable under the auspices of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce.
In our sights are the major tourism events of the coming year — a season of celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday, and the region’s six weeks as host to the FIFA World Cup — and the important technological innovations that are driving leisure marketing and guest experiences.
The county Chamber of Commerce and the county Tourism Bureau are looking at current visitor data, taking stock in how tourism is changing and what gaps exist — everything from last-mile transportation to ease of wayfinding to the shape of retail and hospitality in our towns — and generating a fresh, collaborative conversation.
The professional staff members of the Chamber, the Tourism Bureau, and the Morris County Economic Development Corporation are hard at work on generating the right business relationships that can power these efforts forward in a sustained and measurable way.
Great people and incredible institutions make our region a beloved community that believes in serving our neighbors. We are from everywhere and we are open to everyone. That spirit — and the remarkable backgrounds and wisdom of this community — is a key ingredient to our future success as a tourist destination, making us ideal hosts for visitors from literally anywhere.
Article featuring Ashley Asdal of Riamede Farm and Thomas Loughman wit hMorris Museum. Article sourced from NewJerseyHills.com
