Ocean City gearing up for busy Labor Day Weekend

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Labor Day Weekend is one of the busiest 3 days for beaches across the country. And that includes Ocean City, officials spoke with WMDT about how the island prepares for the last hurrah of the summer.

The weekend marks the unofficial end of the summer. According to the Maryland Transportation Authority, 345,000 vehicles will cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.

John Fager is the owner of two popular spots on the island, Band Monkey and Fager’s Island. He calls the holiday one of America’s greatest traditions. “Labor Day is exciting for Ocean City, the whole town. Ocean City, I think, is the greatest resort town on the entire East Coast.”

Finally, the surge from Hurricane Erin has calmed down, and tourists and residents can enjoy the weather. The executive director of the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce, Amy Thompson, hopes people enjoy the expected wonderful weather.

“Particularly with some of the weather, this is a kind of our last bastion of hope to have a nice full tourism experience to wrap up the summer months.”

For Fager, he knows the boost in business will be significant. He said the 3-day weekend is like having another Saturday. He said everyone benefits from the busy weekend.

“All the people who work here, especially tipped employees, the hotel fills up, the restaurant fills up, the beach is full of people.”

Lt. Ward Kovacs of the Beach Patrol says they will have an uptick of personnel – going from 40 lifeguards to 60 lifeguards to keep safety at the forefront.

“I just want to emphasize that when people do come into town, to make sure a lifeguard is in the sand before they go into the water. Thats our saying: make your feet is in the sand before the lifeguard is in the stand.”