Atlantic City posted another strong year for conventions and meetings bookings in 2018.
Meet AC, the marketing and sales branch of the Atlantic City Convention Center, said 238 conventions were booked during the year, the fourth in a row of year-on-year increases.
According to Meet AC CEO Jim Wood, the impact works out to 371,996 occupied hotel rooms through 2021 and a boost to the local economy of around $400 million.
That it was achieved despite an ongoing shutdown of NJ Transit’s Atlantic City Rail Line, and the lack of a clear timetable for its reopening, was especially significant, Wood said.
“We do recognize, though, for the most part, we are a regional destination. And so our emphasis is on the regional,” he said. “And it’s really because the barrier of the transportation. It’s tough when you’re an hour and five minutes away from a primary airport that’s got the bulk of the flights.”
Meet AC is 96 percent funded by the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority, which, in turn, is supported through a portion of the state’s 8 percent tax on casino revenues. The authority said recently it is upping the organization’s 2019 funding by $1.3 million to $7.8 million.
