Belmar is surpassing last year's pre-season beach badge sales by wide margins, in what local officials said is a show of support beachgoers have in the borough's comeback after Hurricane Sandy.
Belmar beach badge sales have seen a significant increase with 3,037 badges sold so far for the 2013 season, a 47 percent increase over the sales of the same period last year.
And those sales came in although the tourism landmark of the boardwalk itself still needs to be rebuilt.
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"This is without a boardwalk," Mayor Matt Doherty said.
Doherty said these figures show the confidence and interest beachgoers have in Belmar's recovery for summer. The borough is planning to have its boardwalk open by Memorial Day.
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Isolating a month's sales and comparing it to the same time last year also shows incredibly strong sales. For example, the December sales have grown 70 percent over last year.
Beach badges are $50 for a seasonal pass; $15 for seniors; $7 daily; free for children 15 and younger and active duty military and their families.
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