Ocean City reflects on summer tourism season and new safety measures

Ocean City Boardwalk

Ocean City Boardwalk

OCEAN CITY, Md. – With school starting, fall quickly approaching and Labor Day right around the corner, it’s safe to say the summer season in Ocean City is officially winding down.

As the summer comes to an end, thousands are busy soaking up the sun and enjoying all that ocean city has to offer one last time before businesses close down.

47ABC spoke with local businesses along the boardwalk on Tuesday to find out how the season went for them.

According to businesses along the Ocean City boardwalk, business has been booming this summer.

Sean Donovan, the Head Supervisor of Trimpers said, “The crowds have been very good, haven’t really seen at this point, things will start to get pretty slow because school is starting, but it’s been staying steady which is very nice.”

Businesses, like the beloved Jessica’s Fudge House on the boardwalk, did see a slow start early in the season due to bad weather.

Mitch Rosinski, the owner of Jessica’s Fudge House said, “The rain, even though we might not necessarily have gotten a lot of rain in Ocean City just when it was forecasted for you know, 70 to 80 percent chance of rain every day for like two weeks, like areas around us got rain, and I think it kept some of the people away.”

For some businesses like Trimpers, the rain wasn’t too much of a problem because people would simply move inside and play their arcade games instead.

Donovan said,”Inside, you know, busier when the rain comes down heavy and everyone comes inside and the inside picks up.”

Fortunately, the month of August packed plenty of sunshine bringing a swell of people to the beach town.

Donovan said,”August has been very good.”

Robert Redel, the manager of Red Apple on the boardwalk said, “Busiest month? August.”

Rosinski said, “August has been great! No rain and a lot of big crowds and I think a lot of it is because our kids don’t go back to school until after Labor Day.”

Local shops tell us, they expect big crowds during Labor Day weekend.

Donovan said, “I expect Labor Day to be very busy everybody coming down for one last shot before the season is done, but yeah, we’re looking for Labor Day to be very good.”

We still have a good few weeks left of the summer season, so if you haven’t yet, pay a visit to your local beach town and get your fill of fun and food, before all of these businesses close down.

Something else Ocean City is reflecting on as the season comes to an end is how effective things like the median fence and the special events zone were this summer.

Mayor Rick Meehan told 47ABC that the median fence has been successful at directing pedestrians towards the crosswalks and they have seen fewer pedestrian fatalities this summer as a result.

As for the special events zone, it helped turn away controversial events like H2Oi and we’re told it kept events like OC Cruisin‘ under control this summer.

As for the public’s relationship with police this summer, we’re told families are developing much better relationships with local law enforcement helping keep the beach town family friendly and safe.

Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said, “It’s been a very good summer so far, we have a month and a half to go yet summer keeps going here! I think all in all, safety wise it’s been an excellent summer in Ocean City.”

Mayor Meehan tells us he hopes nothing changes in the coming weeks and that we finish off the summer strong.