By Sunayana Prabhu
The arguments fell somewhere between absurdity and bemusement. Now all the brouhaha over the Garden State’s midriff is being put to rest with a new law that will officially add Central Jersey to the state’s tourism map.
But without Monmouth County?
According to details in bill S3206/A4711, the Division of Travel and Tourism is required to re-draw the state’s tourism map to create a Central Jersey region including, at a minimum, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset counties and incorporate the area in all regional marketing activities, publications and on the VisitNJ.org website.
According to Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone, the state has classified Monmouth County as part of the “Shore Region” and therefore it is not included in the bill.
“While the very existence of the middle of our state has long been the subject of debate, we are long overdue in designating Central Jersey as the hub of tourism, innovation and history that it is,” Sen. Andrew Zwicker (D-16), co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.
Besides marketing activities focused on Central Jersey, the state division has also been directed to dedicate at least 10% of its annual appropriation to the promotion of agritourism in the region which pertains to several farm-to-table enterprises, breweries, harvest festivals and more.
The push for Central Jersey to be officially recognized comes as the state registers a steady increase in travel and tourism. According to data released May 11, the state has seen a steady increase in visitors from pre-pandemic numbers with 114.6 million total visitors generating $5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022, an equivalent to $1,470 in tax savings for every household in New Jersey. In 2023, the state predicts visitor spending to increase nearly 10% from last year to reach $49.8 billion.
And Monmouth County accounts for a large part of that, according to Arnone.
Monmouth County is “already leading the way in promoting our tourism industry and businesses while encouraging visitors to travel and plan long-term trips to our remarkable county,” Arnone said in an email to The Two River Times July 7. He noted that with an award-winning tourism website, local tourism partners and new programs such as Brewed & Distilled in Monmouth and a Safe Beach Day dashboard, county officials are hoping to further bolster the tourism industry here.
Monmouth County reported over $29 million in beach revenue and over 9.2 million visitors in 2022, “both increases from 2021,” Arnone said.
The county also saw 2022 visitor spending increase from $2.3 million in 2021 to $2.8 million in 2022 – a 19.6% increase that benefits local businesses.
“Monmouth County tourism continuesto be incredibly successful,” Arnone said. While North and South Jersey have had their distinct identities for decades, the debate over the existence of Central Jersey peaked in 2018 after Stephen Colbert on “The Late Show” called it the “middle part.”
But Gov. Phil Murphy, a guest on the show and resident of a town appropriately named Middletown, said that was “desperately wrong,” likening Central Jersey to “a mystical kingdom” like “Narnia.”
In a quick tweet in December 2019, Murphy doubled down: “As Governor of the Great State of New Jersey, I hereby declare that CENTRAL JERSEY DOES EXIST.” Murphy also posted New Jersey’s definition of Central Jersey which includes the counties of Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Somerset, Ocean and Union.
Plenty of other debates abound in New Jersey – Taylor Ham or pork roll? Sub or hoagie? – and now that Central Jersey officially exists, it seems like a new debate about its borders might be brewing.
Seven years ago, Asbury Park-based photographer Suzanne Spitaletta started an account across social media platforms called Central Jersey Exists. Spitaletta found there were ample social accounts that highlighted the beauty of both North and South Jersey but none that showcased the middle of the state.
“People have a lot of differences as to where the borders are,” Spitalleta said. “At Central Jersey Exists, we have our idea of where the borders are but I don’t even think that is truly, truly defined.”
She said the passage of the bill elicited some “funny comments” from followers.
“What map are people looking at to get their borders – the map from the 1600s?” one asked.
“Throwing this out there, should it include Staten Island?” Twitter user El Magnifico tweeted. Still another Twitter user claimed no matter the law, Central Jersey “still doesn’t exist.”
But art, history, agriculture and eco-tourism experiences give Central Jersey its distinctive character. Spitalleta said the region offers a unique combination of urban and quaint towns like Red Bank, Asbury Park, and Lambertville in the west, with beach towns like Sea Bright, Manasquan, Spring Lake along the shore and beautiful rivers and farmland in between.
The legislation is expected to promote travel to an area that has “more Revolutionary War sites than you’ll find anywhere else,” Zwicker said. “Central Jersey exists, and you should come visit.”
The bill will take effect 90 days following enactment but Old York Cellars in Ringoes, Hunterdon County, has already collaborated with the nonprofit Discover Central Jersey – a collection of farmers, restauranteurs, beverage makers and businesspeople – to launch a series of new Central Jersey Exists wines to celebrate the validation.
The article originally appeared in the July 13 – 19, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
