FOR RELEASE ON July 27 at 2 PM
11th Year Delivers 101 winners in the 2021 Best of Ocean City® Contest
OceanCity.com, the premier and largest online destination for tourists on the shore, has announced its annual Best of Ocean City® winners for the 2021 season. Now in its 11th year, the online voting contest engages lovers of the resort from far and wide to choose the best restaurants, bars, activities and boardwalk businesses. 14 businesses received more than one award in this online contest. 101 Ocean City businesses in total will receive prizes. These winners provide an updated guide to the must-stop businesses for the millions of tourists that visit the island each year.
This year’s voting cycle, which began on Memorial Day 2020 and continued into June 2021, garnered nearly 100,000 votes across more than 40 categories. Voting totals remained consistent with previous years, proving that people were still passionate about Ocean City, Maryland during the Covid-19 pandemic.
14 Ocean City Businesses Receive Multiple Awards
Many longtime Ocean City businesses continued their reign on the list this year. Seacrets dominates the businesses in Ocean City for 2021 by winning five total awards including the prestigious “Best Bar Overall.” They also won “Best Drinks,” “Best Place to View a Sunset,” “Best Raw Bar,” and came in second for “Best Live Music.” Fish Tales and Odyssea Watersports each claimed three prizes this year and 11 businesses took home two prizes each. An additional 87 Ocean City businesses were recognized as either a Best of Ocean City® winner or runner-up this year. For the first time, businesses such as Tarhaka Brothers Ice Cream and boat tour groups OC Bay Hopper and Sail Alyosha made appearances on the list.
For the full list of 2021 winners, click here.
“We are thrilled to have been able to continue our Best of Ocean City® contest throughout the pandemic, highlighting the greatest places and activities our town has to offer,” said Ann McGinnis Hillyer, CEO of OceanCity.com. “This is the only competition in Ocean City that has absolutely nothing to do with advertising or other schemes. These prizes are truly indicative of what our tourist base believes are the top establishments in Ocean City.”
After tallying the results, OceanCity.com reported the winners and runners-up in each category. Additionally, the staff, a team of local residents, and business owners all collaborated to pick editor’s choice winners in most categories, offering tourists yet another option in dozens of categories. In some cases, however, the winners our followers picked were simply the best without question, so a few categories do not include an editorial winner.
Each winning business, even if bestowed more than one award by the voters, will receive one metal sign and a window decal to proudly display in their establishments. The signs, sporting the brand new OceanCity.com logo, are a badge of honor, especially after the unprecedented year business owners just experienced. The tireless efforts by these businesses to not only keep their doors open and serve both the residents and tourists of Ocean City, but to go beyond the basics to win a Best of Ocean City® award have not gone unnoticed.
Keeping the fun going, OceanCity.com’s website and social media pages will soon launch a new contest, encouraging visitors to take photos with the Best of Ocean City® signs they spot around town. They will then be eligible for giveaway drawings, including free/discounted activities. Stay tuned to our digital properties for more details.
Voting for the Best of Ocean City® 2022 is already open and will continue through May 31. We thank those that voted and hope to have a record-breaking year of participation in 2022.
Click here to begin voting for the 2022 contest.
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About OceanCity.com
OceanCity.com is part of the StateVentures.com, a leader in travel websites. OceanCity.com features the most comprehensive guide to the Ocean City area and is the original publisher of the Best of Ocean City® polls and awards. It regularly features updated articles, photos and videos of topics and events Ocean City fans care about. It is the most comprehensive guide to accommodations, dining, recreation and amusements in Maryland’s favorite resort. The site brings to life Ocean City’s people and places and offers users the ability to book hotel reservations online.
The fresh content, social media pages, and business directory are immensely popular. With over 1 million annual visitors, OceanCity.com has the most engaged community. StateVentures, founded in 1999, owns and operates OceanCity.com, ShoreCraftBeer.com, Annapolis.com, Maryland.com, Virginia.com, and CoastalDelaware.com, among many others.
Contacts:
Ann McGinnis Hillyer
email: amh@maryland.com
mobile: 410-703-1970
