The Wildwoods, NJ – April 15, 2014 – The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority (GWTIDA) and the City of Wildwood announced today that an agreement has been reached by the two entities to keep two Beach Blast soccer tournaments and the Beach Jam camping event set to take place on the Wildwood Beach as scheduled. 

City of Wildwood Mayor Ernie Troiano, Jr. along with GWTIDA board chair Tom Byrne and executive director John Siciliano worked together to reach the agreement. GWTIDA proposed the plan, which calls for the City of Wildwood to rescind a resolution calling for a new beach event fee plan that charged a per participant user fee in 2014, and to leave the 2013 fee structure in place for this year.

Under the plan, GWTIDA would use Tourism Development Fees collected from island-wide businesses  to reimburse the City of Wildwood in 2014 for the fees that would have been collected had the resolution remained in place.

“It’s important to keep these events on the island, but more importantly to keep them in Wildwood, since so many businesses depend on the added revenue that these events generate each year,” explained Byrne.

Byrne, Siciliano and Troiano reached the agreement together and Troiano has agreed to recommend that his fellow commissioners vote to rescind the resolution at their next regularly scheduled meeting, scheduled for Wednesday, April 23.

“We are happy to reach this compromise, resolve this issue and to have the City of Wildwood continue to host these events,” Troiano stated.

Byrne also indicated he has reached out to the event hosts, the Morey Organization and Cape Express Soccer, and asked them to wait until the April 23 meeting before taking any further action toward moving these events.

“GWTIDA is working on a long term solution to event support for all of the island municipalities and expects to present a plan in the fourth quarter of 2014, and implement the strategy for the 2015 event season,” said Byrne.

For additional information about the Wildwoods, visit www.WildwoodsNJ.com or call 800-992-9732.          

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About the Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority

The Greater Wildwoods Tourism Improvement and Development Authority (GWTIDA) was formed in 1993 to consolidate the tourism economy of its three founding municipalities: Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and North Wildwood. The Wildwoods have won numerous travel and tourism awards, heralding the resort for its beaches, boardwalk and attractions.

The Wildwoods’ Morey’s Piers were named in 2014 among the Top 10 Piers by Coastal Living. In 2013 the Wildwoods were also recognized as one of the Most Awesome Boardwalks in America by BudgetTravel.com; as the Favorite Shore Town by Delaware County Daily Times readers; as the Favorite Beach and Boardwalk by NJ.com readers; the Top Family-Friendly Beach Town by NerdWallet.com; and as One of America’s Top 10 U.S. Tourist Towns by families voting in FamilyFun magazine. They were also named “Best Beaches in New Jersey” in the 2012, 2011, 2010 and 2008 Top Ten New Jersey Beaches public survey, sponsored by the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium. Wildwoods’ beaches were also named “Best Beach for Family Vacations,” “Best Beach for Tourism,” “Best Beach for Events,” “Best Beach for Eco-Tourism” and “Best Beach for Day Trips” in the same surveys. The Wildwoods were named #1 Boardwalk in the nation by FamilyVacationCritic.com in 2012; and Smarter Travel also named the Wildwoods Boardwalk, one of “Americas Best Boardwalks.” The 2012 list of “15 Destinations on the Rise” for TripAdvisor included the Wildwoods, and Home.com voted the Wildwoods one of “Americas Top 10 Scenic Seasides of the Summer.” In addition, the Wildwoods were voted “Best Town” in the 2009 and 2011 PHL-17 Philly Hot List, Jersey Shore Edition contest; and were one of Sherman’s Travel’s “Top Ten American Boardwalks” for two years in a row.

The Tourism Authority operates the Wildwoods Convention Center and acts as the island’s destination marketing organization overseeing the development, research, planning, marketing, advertising, promotion, public and media relations encompassing the tourism, meeting and convention industry in the Wildwoods. Additionally, the Authority funds, assists with and hosts more than 180 annual special events to enhance the visitor experience and extend the tourism season, including the Beach Monster Mash Truck Races, Family Nights On The Boardwalk, Friday Night Fireworks, the New Jersey State Barbeque Championships and Anglesea Blues Festival, Classic Car Shows, the International Kite Festival, Irish and Italian Festivals and the National Marbles Tournament, among others.

For more information about the Wildwoods, contact the GWTIDA at 800-WW-By-Sea (800-992-9732) or visit its web site, www.WildwoodsNJ.com.