OCEAN CITY, Md. - Two major music festivals, Oceans Calling and Country Calling, drew tens of thousands of visitors to Ocean City over the past two weekends — providing a major end-of-season economic boost for local businesses.
Local Xon Zane said the experience was unforgettable. “Everything was wonderful. Really, I had the best time of my life and everybody that came down was extremely nice,” Zane said.
Businesses across town also welcomed the influx of visitors. Cengizhan Unal, manager at Piezano’s Pizza, said the back-to-back festivals provided a strong finish to the season. “Having an event like this to kind of wrap things up helps out a lot,” Unal said.
As crews began taking down stages and equipment this week, city officials reflected on the festivals’ impact.
Ocean City Tourism and Business Development Director Tom Perlozzo said both weekends drew impressive crowds. “From a tourism perspective, we’ve done our job. We’re selling tickets in every 50 states,” Perlozzo said.
According to Perlozzo, ticket sales were similar to last year, with more than 50,000 tickets sold each day across the two weekends.
Last year, the town generated roughly $325 million in revenue from Oceans Calling and Country Calling combined. While final figures for this year aren’t yet available, Perlozzo said he expects the total to match or even surpass that amount, since Country Calling expanded from two days to three. “We’re generating room tax, sales tax, food tax. And then we’re supporting small businesses up and down. It’s a win-win,” Perlozzo said.
Business owners agree. “It’s good for the small business owners. It’s good for the town in general.” Unal said
Perlozzo said a third-party group calculates the total economic impact from both festivals and expects to have an estimate within the next few months.