A shoobie (or shoebie) is a derogatory term used in South Jersey and Santa Monica, California to describe a tourist who visits the seashore for a brief period of time, primarily to use the beach during the summer months. Shoobie is used in resort towns along the southern Jersey Shore, between the areas of Long Beach Island and Cape May. The term "shoobie" originated in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, and it allegedly derives from the habit among tourists of bringing everything they needed in a shoe box. Items can include a towel, suntan lotion, and food. The term "shoobie" may also derive from the fact that tourists are more likely to wear their shoes on the beach. Homeowners (whether year-round or seasonal) often walk to the beach barefoot or remove their shoes immediately upon reaching the sand. A similar term is "Benny," which is mostly used in the resort towns of the northern Jersey Shore.

Shoobies are essentially a mixed blessing for local beach residents. They bring in enormous revenue during the summer months, but at the same time they add numerous obstacles and annoyances to day-to-day life. In that sense, shoobies are not unlike the tourists that descend on any resort area.



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