News Release

Media Contacts:
Donna Abbott              
410-723-8609                 
DAbbott@ococean.com

Kathleen Shaffer
410-902-5053
Kshaffer@mghus.com

Ocean City, Md., Hosts Nearly One Million Visitors During Month of May

In connection with near-record setting Memorial Day numbers, town experiences most successful month of May in history

Ocean City, Md. (June 2, 2009) – The Ocean City, Md., Department of Tourism announced today that a total of 986,818 weekend tourists visited the resort town during May 2009, marking the most successful month of May since the town began tracking tourism population estimates based on the demoflush formula in 1992.  The high number of spring visitors indicates that Ocean City is off to a record-breaking start to the peak summer travel season. The town also experienced the most successful month of April on the books and hosted a near-record 270,421 visitors over Memorial Day.

Typically, Ocean City experiences its largest monthly numbers during July and August when weather is at its warmest and families take summer vacations. Standout events this past May such as Cruisin’ Weekend, Springfest, Ravens Roost parade, Geico Off-Shore Power Boat Racing and beautiful weather were a factor in drawing large numbers of weekend visitors.

“We expected to see an up tick in visitors leading into peak season but no one anticipated two record setting Spring months,” said Mayor Rick Meehan. “Our successful Spring season is really creating a sense of optimism and excitement in town for the summer ahead and we look forward to welcoming everyone to Ocean City.”

The month of May is typically when Ocean City starts to experience an increased and consistent flow of visitors. Last year the May weekend population estimate totaled 847,725.