July 15, 2009 - New Jersey Voters Like Where They Live And Play, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; But Dissatisfaction With Garden State Is High Word format A total of 78 percent of New Jersey voters say the Garden State is a "very good" or "fairly good" place to live and 81 percent rate the state "very good" or "fairly good" for a vacation, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. This summer 61 percent of voters say they will vacation or sightsee in the Garden State, and 72 percent would recommend a New Jersey vacation to out-of-state family and friends, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. But 67 percent of voters are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" with the way things are going in the Garden State. Life is a beach for New Jersey voters as 49 percent say ocean beaches are their favorite attraction, with 13 percent who most like Atlantic City casinos, 9 percent each for the boardwalk or sightseeing, 8 percent for amusement parks and 5 percent for lake beaches. A total of 94 percent of voters say tourism is "very important" or "somewhat important" to New Jersey's economy. "If the weather ever settles down, all will be peaches and cream on the beach and the boardwalk. Vacationing New Jersey voters like the ocean," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "There's no place like home, New Jerseyans say, as a place to live and, even more, a place to vacation. They're troubled by problems in the Garden State, as are voters everywhere in these difficult times, but they still love New Jersey." From July 8 - 12, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,587 New Jersey registered voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio and nationally as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed: http://ww.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201. 11. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? REGISTERED VOTERS.................................. Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very satisfied 3 1 4 2 3 2 2 2 Smwht satisfied 30 20 48 19 26 34 28 50 Smwht dissatisfied 33 30 36 32 33 33 33 27 Very dissatisfied 33 49 12 45 37 30 37 20 DK/NA 1 - 1 2 1 1 1 1 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very satisfied 5 3 - 3 2 Smwht satisfied 36 36 21 27 26 Smwht dissatisfied 44 25 41 33 30 Very dissatisfied 14 35 37 36 42 DK/NA 2 1 - 1 - TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in New Jersey today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? (*also 71% on 02/12/1999) REGISTERED VOTERS..................................... VERY+SMWHT.... High Low Jul 15 Jun 10 May 20 Apr 22 Mar 11 Dec 26 Jun 16 2009 2009 2009 2009 2009 2000* 2006 Very satisfied 3 3 2 2 2 10 3 Smwht satisfied 30 29 33 33 32 61 27 Smwht dissatisfied 33 34 31 29 30 21 37 Very dissatisfied 33 33 32 35 35 7 32 DK/NA 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 22. How would you rate New Jersey as a place to live - very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very good 27 24 33 22 25 30 27 24 Fairly good 51 48 55 50 52 50 49 55 Fairly bad 13 19 8 16 15 12 14 13 Very bad 8 8 5 11 8 8 8 8 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 - Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very good 27 30 27 25 26 Fairly good 56 51 50 46 52 Fairly bad 12 11 14 17 15 Very bad 4 8 8 12 6 DK/NA 1 1 1 - 1 23. How would you rate New Jersey as a place to take a vacation - very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very good 33 36 33 31 29 37 35 27 Fairly good 48 47 49 47 51 45 47 54 Fairly bad 11 11 11 12 12 10 11 8 Very bad 6 5 5 7 5 7 5 9 DK/NA 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very good 30 31 28 32 44 Fairly good 46 48 51 53 41 Fairly bad 13 11 13 9 10 Very bad 10 7 5 5 3 DK/NA 2 2 3 1 2 24. Would you recommend to out of state family and friends, that they vacation in New Jersey, or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 72 68 74 71 73 70 73 66 No 27 31 25 27 26 29 26 31 DK/NA 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 71 65 68 79 79 No 28 33 30 21 21 DK/NA 2 1 1 - 1 25. Do you plan to spend time vacationing or sightseeing in New Jersey this summer? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 61 62 63 59 63 59 64 51 No 36 37 34 36 33 39 34 45 ALREADY HAVE(VOL) 2 1 2 4 3 1 2 4 DK/NA - 1 1 - - 1 1 - Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 62 59 55 62 68 No 37 40 42 33 28 ALREADY HAVE(VOL) 1 2 3 4 3 DK/NA - - - 1 1 26. About how long do you think you will (or did you) vacation or sightsee in New Jersey this summer - a few days, about a week, about 2 weeks, or more than that? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk A few days 36 34 41 32 32 39 32 57 A week 31 31 31 30 32 30 33 18 2 weeks 14 13 11 18 15 14 15 12 More 17 19 16 17 20 15 18 10 DK/NA 2 2 1 3 2 2 2 3 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore A few days 35 40 37 35 30 A week 38 28 40 26 27 2 weeks 14 16 10 16 11 More 11 14 12 22 27 DK/NA 3 1 1 1 5 27. Which of the following do you most like to do in New Jersey - sightsee, ocean beaches, boardwalks, lake beaches, amusement parks, or casinos in Atlantic City? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Sightsee 9 9 8 11 10 8 10 8 Ocean beaches 49 53 47 49 51 47 53 29 Boardwalks 9 9 9 11 8 11 10 10 Lake beaches 5 6 5 6 5 5 6 6 Amusement parks 8 4 10 7 7 8 5 22 Casinos in AC 13 12 14 11 13 13 11 21 DK/NA 7 6 7 6 7 7 7 3 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Sightsee 8 10 11 8 7 Ocean beaches 46 43 51 52 56 Boardwalks 7 9 6 13 11 Lake beaches 4 5 11 3 5 Amusement parks 10 10 4 6 6 Casinos in AC 19 15 9 11 12 DK/NA 6 8 8 7 4 28. Which of the following is most important for you when you go on vacation - visiting places of historical and cultural interest, recreational activities, fine dining, activities for whole family, or relaxing? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Historical places 21 21 22 22 17 25 21 20 Rec activities 12 6 12 14 14 9 12 12 Fine dining 6 5 6 6 6 5 6 9 Act for family 27 29 29 24 25 28 26 32 Relaxing 32 37 29 32 35 30 33 26 DK/NA 3 2 2 3 3 3 3 2 Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Historical places 16 26 18 20 21 Rec activities 13 11 12 9 14 Fine dining 6 5 7 4 8 Act for family 27 24 28 33 24 Relaxing 34 31 31 32 32 DK/NA 3 3 4 2 2 29. How important do you think tourism is to New Jersey's economy - very important, somewhat important, not very important or not important at all? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very important 65 63 67 65 63 67 66 65 Smwht important 29 33 26 30 31 28 30 24 Not very important 4 3 5 3 4 4 3 9 Not important at all 2 1 1 2 3 1 1 2 DK/NA - - - - - - - - Philly Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very important 59 61 61 70 75 Smwht important 31 31 34 26 22 Not very important 9 4 1 3 2 Not important at all 1 2 3 1 2 DK/NA - - - - -