June 18, 2010 - Garden State Is Great Place To Live And Play, New Jersey Voters Tell Quinnipiac University Poll; Beach Is Top Vacation Attraction Word format The Garden State is a "very good" place to live, 27 percent of New Jersey voters say, while 51 percent say it's "fairly good;" 14 percent say "fairly bad" and 8 percent say "very bad," in a Quinnipiac University poll released today. A total of 79 percent of New Jerseyans say the state is a "very good" or "fairly good" place for a vacation, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds, and 70 percent say they would recommend a Garden State vacation to out of state family and friends. New Jerseyans like sand in their shoes. When asked where they would like to go on vacation this summer: 50 percent say they most like to go to an ocean beach; 10 percent say they most like the Atlantic City casinos; 9 percent most like the boardwalk; 8 percent each choose lake beaches or sightseeing. "Sure, we're worried about our politicians and our taxes, but we like living in New Jersey and we think it's a great place to spend a vacation. Come pay us a visit, we'd be glad to tell our friends," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "The seashore wins as the favorite vacation spot - with a couple of specialty items, the boardwalks and the Atlantic City casinos." Tourism is "very important" to New Jersey's economy, 68 percent of voters say, while 26 percent say it is "somewhat important." "It's not just for fun. New Jerseyans know that tourism is a big plus for the state's economy," Carroll said. For 33 percent of New Jersey voters, relaxing is most important on a vacation, followed by 26 percent who list family activities and 20 percent who like to visit historical places. From June 10 - 15, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,461 New Jersey voters, with a margin of error of +/- 2.6 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://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 31. 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% 28% 28% 25% 25% 28% 29% 24% Fairly good 51 49 51 53 55 47 50 50 Fairly bad 14 14 12 14 12 15 14 14 Very bad 8 9 8 7 7 9 7 11 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 - - - Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very good 27% 25% 33% 24% 31% 19% 30% Fairly good 53 51 56 53 52 52 41 Fairly bad 10 18 6 15 10 17 17 Very bad 10 6 5 7 7 11 11 DK/NA - - - - - 1 1 TREND: How would you rate New Jersey as a place to live - very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Very good 27 27 Fairly good 51 51 Fairly bad 14 13 Very bad 8 8 DK/NA 1 1 32. 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% 39% 32% 33% 34% 33% 36% 25% Fairly good 46 44 45 47 44 47 47 36 Fairly bad 12 11 13 13 13 12 11 22 Very bad 6 5 9 5 6 7 4 15 DK/NA 2 2 2 2 3 1 2 2 Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very good 39% 30% 29% 31% 30% 34% 44% Fairly good 49 45 51 45 47 45 43 Fairly bad 8 15 13 15 14 12 7 Very bad 4 10 5 7 8 8 3 DK/NA 1 1 2 2 1 1 3 TREND: How would you rate New Jersey as a place to take a vacation - very good, fairly good, fairly bad, or very bad? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Very good 33 33 Fairly good 46 48 Fairly bad 12 11 Very bad 6 6 DK/NA 2 2 33. 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 70% 77% 67% 71% 72% 68% 76% 54% No 29 22 33 26 26 31 23 46 DK/NA 1 1 - 3 2 1 1 - Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 75% 67% 62% 68% 69% 70% 79% No 25 33 33 30 30 29 21 DK/NA - - 4 2 1 1 - TREND: Would you recommend to out of state family and friends, that they vacation in New Jersey, or not? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Yes 70 72 No 29 27 DK/NA 1 1 34. Do you plan to spend time vacationing or sightseeing in New Jersey this summer? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 62% 67% 59% 63% 63% 60% 66% 51% No 37 31 40 35 35 38 33 48 ALREADY HAVE(VOL) - - - - 1 - - 1 DK/NA 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 - Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Yes 68% 66% 62% 63% 58% 64% 62% No 31 33 38 36 40 36 35 ALREADY HAVE(VOL) - 1 - - 1 - - DK/NA 1 - - 1 1 - 3 TREND: Do you plan to spend time vacationing or sightseeing in New Jersey this summer? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Yes 62 61 No 37 36 ALREADY HAVE(VOL) - 2 DK/NA 1 - 35. (If will or have in q34) 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? NEW JERSEY VACATIONERS Q34.......................... Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk A few days 27% 26% 33% 25% 21% 33% 25% 45% A week 28 24 30 31 32 25 31 23 2 weeks 21 28 19 20 25 17 23 15 More 21 20 17 22 19 23 20 13 DK/NA 3 2 2 3 3 2 1 4 Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore A few days 24% 27% 31% 27% 27% 28% 23% A week 22 29 30 27 33 32 23 2 weeks 25 28 16 22 25 18 24 More 27 16 13 22 15 21 29 DK/NA 1 1 9 2 - 2 2 TREND: 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? NEW JERSEY VACATIONERS Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 A few days 27 36 A week 28 31 2 weeks 21 14 More 21 17 DK/NA 3 2 36. 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 8% 9% 9% 8% 7% 9% 9% 6% Ocean beaches 50 55 48 49 52 47 54 31 Boardwalks 9 9 9 7 7 10 8 11 Lake beaches 8 9 6 10 10 7 8 5 Amusement parks 7 3 11 6 6 8 4 25 Casinos in AC 10 8 11 12 9 11 8 17 DK/NA 8 8 6 8 8 8 9 6 Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Sightsee 8% 7% 8% 8% 11% 8% 6% Ocean beaches 55 54 45 48 49 50 57 Boardwalks 12 9 9 8 3 15 11 Lake beaches 8 6 4 10 15 2 7 Amusement parks 3 10 12 10 4 5 4 Casinos in AC 9 7 15 9 8 13 8 DK/NA 5 6 6 9 11 8 7 TREND: 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? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Sightsee 8 9 Ocean beaches 50 49 Boardwalks 9 9 Lake beaches 8 5 Amusement parks 7 8 Casinos in AC 10 13 DK/NA 8 7 37. 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 20% 25% 15% 21% 19% 20% 22% 8% Rec activities 13 12 17 10 13 13 11 16 Fine dining 5 5 4 6 5 6 5 9 Act for family 26 21 31 24 26 26 23 43 Relaxing 33 34 31 35 34 32 36 22 DK/NA 3 2 2 5 3 3 2 1 Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Historical places 19% 10% 16% 19% 24% 19% 22% Rec activities 15 13 11 17 10 12 12 Fine dining 4 1 7 5 2 6 6 Act for family 30 53 28 25 22 28 27 Relaxing 31 20 32 31 39 33 31 DK/NA 2 2 5 3 2 2 3 TREND: 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? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Historical places 20 21 Rec activities 13 12 Fine dining 5 6 Act for family 26 27 Relaxing 33 32 DK/NA 3 3 38. 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 68% 69% 70% 68% 71% 66% 70% 64% Smwht important 26 26 25 27 24 28 26 24 Not very important 4 3 4 5 4 3 3 9 Not important at all 1 - 2 1 1 1 1 3 DK/NA 1 2 - - - 1 1 - Union HvKids Philly Hshlds PubSch Urban SbUrbn ExUrbn land Shore Very important 74% 68% 72% 67% 58% 73% 73% Smwht important 25 25 21 27 32 23 25 Not very important 1 6 6 3 7 4 - Not important at all - - 1 2 - - - DK/NA - 1 - 1 2 - 1 TREND: How important do you think tourism is to New Jersey's economy - very important, somewhat important, not very important or not important at all? Jun 18 Jul 15 2010 2009 Very important 68 65 Smwht important 26 29 Not very important 4 4 Not important at all 1 2 DK/NA 1 -
