With the unofficial start of summer on Memorial Day weekend, tourism officials hope to see lots of sun and surf lovers flocking to the state’s beaches.
Millions of people visit Delaware’s beaches each year, providing a big boost to the economies of communities in the southern part of the First State.
With summer on the way, Carol Everhart, President and CEO of the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce says Delaware beaches are always a big draw when the weather heats up.
“It's just very popular. They love the beach, they love the culinary coast - so many great restaurants - and they like all the extras," she said.
Those extras include a full calendar of events as well.
“Highlights are of course, the bandstand, especially in the summer months," Everhart said. "All of the events that we have - Jazz Festival, Summer Expo or running of the Bulls in Dewey or the fireworks on the 4th of July. There's always something going on.”
But in recent years, the coast has become more popular, even outside of the summer months.
“We're as close as you can get to being called year-round, Everhart said. "It may be a slow Tuesday, Wednesday, but other than that we're very fortunate to have a lot of visitors that come year-round.”
The Chamber of Commerce estimates that a day visitor spends at least $100, while overnight visitors spend at least $200 per day.
DART offers summer beachgoers a way to avoid the hassle of parking and traffic with two park and ride lots and more frequent bus service. Beach Bus service began this week and the Route 305 connection starts running on Saturday.
