Atlantic City in recent years tried to revitalize itself with gambling but that was a bad bet as it evolved into a shabby and second-rate version of Vegas. But gambling is no longer on its list of amenities.
“We don’t even talk about gambling anymore,” Michael Reynolds, senior director of national sales for the Atlantic City CVB.
The city is positioning itself as possessing great shopping and fine restaurants. The city six years ago did not even have a nationally known steak house but some of the top chefs in the industry, including Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck, are now represented here.
Once seen as most attractive to senior citizens, the city has also developed its nightlife with places such as a new disco at Trump Plaza.
And perhaps many don’t know it yet, but Atlantic City is a golf destination. The later was solidified when Forbes Traveler named it the sixth-best golf city in America, according to Meetings/Focus.
The city with 20,000 hotel rooms and a half a million square feet of space at the convention center can easily handle larger groups.
Boardwalk attractions include Steel Pier, where horses used to jump into the ocean but which now is an amusement park with various rides and games, as well as low-cost shopping.
Convention income was down last year, however.
“We’re doing the same number of events in the convention center but food and beverage is down,” Reynolds said.
But Atlantic City’s affordability is expected to help it reach higher group incomes this year.
“We’re very competitive,” Reynolds said.
By David Wilkening
