Beach town businesses offer free gas to draw visitors
By Scott Muska, The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times
OCEAN CITY, Md. -- Joe Kro-Art, the owner of an art gallery on Ocean City's boardwalk, says tourists shouldn't cringe at high gasoline prices -- not when the resort is offering gas giveaways.
"We need to get the idea in their head that gas is gold, and you can get free gas in Ocean City," said Kro-Art, whose shop, Ocean Galley, is decorated in colorful murals.
So far, at least 10 hotels and condo complexes are giving away gas cards of up to $50 or offering special "gas discount" room rates. But Kro-Art says the resort town should consider expanding the incentives. He recalled how in 1979, Mayor Harry W. Kelley and the City Council leased a gas station in town , where they pumped fuel for customers.
Council member Brent Ashley said gas giveaways fit well into his idea of promoting Ocean City as a vacation destination full of free activities. The boardwalk, beach and ocean air all exist free of charge, he said.
In 2008, when gas prices hovered at $4 per gallon, the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association worked with hotels to offer gas incentives. That "definitely helped" attract attention to the town, said Susan Jones, the executive director of the association.
"The way people are kind of thinking is, it might cost an extra 20 bucks to fill up and get here, so they might not buy that bucket of fries or T-shirt," Jones said.
Kro-Art, Ashley and council member Margaret Pillas said they would support taking money from their advertising budget and putting it toward a free-gas promotion. The town approved a $3.5 million tourism campaign with MGH of Baltimore. The campaign includes a series of "Rodney the Lifeguard" ads, which cast Ocean City as a boredom-buster for the average family.
"I think it misses the point, because people aren't bored -- they're broke," Ashley said.
Some town officials say tourism will thrive regardless of gas incentives. Town spokeswoman Donna Abbot said the resort is close enough to the Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia metro areas that visitors can reach the beach on a half-tank of gas or less.
And then there are those free activities, Council President Jim Hall said.
"We have the ocean and the beach and the sun," Hall said.
Well done! Congratulations on the national byline!!
ReplyDeleteApropos to Ocean City, I think a summer fumigation of the Jersey June Bugs might be a great promotional campaign. Badaboom badabing ... you got yourself out of a somewhat unpleasant Situation.