WILDWOOD — According to Director of Tourism at the Cape May County Department of Tourism, Diane Wieland, "the results of a mini survey recently conducted by the department forecasts a positive, but cautious outlook for the 2010 summer season."

The department using approximately 3,000 e-mail addresses of visitors who requested vacation information at the department’s Web site in 2009, recently conducted a brief survey. The survey results will provide the department and the business community with a more concise view of the upcoming tourist season.

Of the nearly 20 percent return, 58 percent of the respondents indicated they are planning to vacation in Cape May County in 2010, while 33 percent were still undecided about their vacation plans. Only 8 percent said they would definitely not be vacationing in Cape May County this year.

When asked if their 2010 vacation plans have changed, a resounding 79 percent said no with 19 percent saying yes and 2 percent responding are not sure of their plans.

The next question asked respondents if economic factors would impact their vacation plans. Of those, 56 percent of our visitors said the economy would not impact their vacation plans while 43 percent said the economy's downturn would definitely impact their vacation plans.

Of the 43 percent of the respondents who said the economy would factor into their vacation planning, we wanted to know how. This question allowed more than one answer and elicited the following results: 11 percent will vacation closer to home; 7 percent will take drive vacations; 8 percent will take fewer vacations; 12 percent will take shorter vacations; 10 percent will take more day trips, and finally, 3 percent will choose another resort destination for their vacation this year.

Packages, coupons and other discounts will help in determining vacation destinations and options for 57 percent of the respondents with 36 percent indicating value-added marketing options could possibly sway their decision and 8 percent saying that discounting would not impact their decisions at all.

Other surveys con-ducted on the national level have shown that many travelers are looking for value out of their vacation dollars and not necessarily deep discounts. Today's travelers are expecting to get the best deal and are shopping around to find discount nirvana.

According to the survey, visitors who are planning to vacation in Cape May County have a specific type of accommodation in mind. More than one answer was allowed for this question factoring in visitors taking multiple vacations: 52.3 percent Hotel/Motel; 10.5 percent Bed Breakfast Inn; 10.1 percent Condominium; 20.6 percent house or apartment rental; 12.5 percent campground; 13.4 percent visit friend or family and 6.1 percent staying in second vacation home.

Finally, visitors to Cape May County are overwhelmingly using the Internet to get all or part of their information about this destination. Respondents could select more than one answer to this question. In fact, 81 percent of those surveyed are getting information from the Internet to help make their vacation plans; 39 percent use visitor centers to supplement their knowledge of the area and 35 percent of visitors hear about the resort through friends and family.

Advertising in news-paper travel sections captured 21 percent of those surveyed, and finally, 18 percent of the respondents found television ads were helpful in making vacation decisions.