Stockton University School of Business hosts fourth annual Jersey Shoreview
ATLANTIC CITY — The summer was “OK” but not great in the region from a business tourism standpoint, due to some rainy weather, high gasoline prices and inflation taking a bite out of household budgets.
That was the picture presented during the fourth annual Jersey Shoreview, a panel discussion of regional business leaders sponsored by the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT) in Stockton University’s School of Business.
LIGHT’s faculty director Jane Bokunewicz moderated a panel of hospitality industry experts that featured Sandy Chu, financial and professional services sector lead, strategic sector development for the New Jersey Economic Development Authority; Sharon Franz, sales and marketing director of Steel Pier; Phyllis Lacca, president and owner of Masterpiece Advertising; and Diane Wieland, director of tourism for the Cape May County Department of Tourism.
Last spring, LIGHT held an event to forecast the coming tourist season with the panel expressing concerns about high gasoline prices, inflation, the rising cost of labor and worker shortages in the hospitality industry.
Gross gaming revenue was up 11 percent in Atlantic City’s casinos from June through August. However, brick-and-mortar gaming revenue was up only 1 percent.
“Most of the growth in the gaming numbers was really in internet gaming and online sports betting, but still very positive results,” Bokunewicz said. “Very good news is employment was up 3 percent and that’s been something the industry has struggled with since the pandemic.”
Casino industry employment is still down by about 1,000 jobs, she said. Meetings and conventions in Atlantic City were down 30 percent during the summer but the year in general was comparable to 2021.
Non-gaming revenue is becoming a very important part of Atlantic City’s revenue. Bokunewicz said in the past, 70 percent of revenue was from gaming and 30 percent from other sources, but that has changed to 55 percent for gaming and 45 percent from other sources.
“It’s getting closer to the model of Las Vegas, where much of the revenue comes from non-gaming attractions,” she said.
Franz said the weather in June and July at the New Jersey shore was “against us.”
Wieland said occupancy tax collected January through July in Cape May County was up about 17 percent over last year.
In July, Cape May County generated $5.2 million in occupancy tax, outpacing all other counties in the state, she said.
“Through anecdotal reports, we’re hearing from the lodging industry that August was pretty much the same, so we anticipate August, also being the height of the season, but also being a good year for us,” Wieland said. “As we look into September, weather-driven tourism was off a little.”
“Our businesses are not saying it was great, they’re saying they did OK,” she said. “OK is good with us.”
Lacca said Atlantic City visitors were looking for “authentic experiences” outside the casino walls.
Wieland said in 2022, 11.4 million people visited Cape May County. She said inflation was a factor in spending by visitors this summer.
In 2022, Cape May County saw about 70 percent of its Canadian visitors return after their absence during an extended shutdown of the border during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wieland said based on anecdotal information, about 75 percent of Canadian visitors have returned this year.
“Spending is down, we know that, it impacts all of us, but if we can increase the number of people that come to Cape May County, we can offset some of that,” she said.
Wieland noted 60 percent of jobs in Cape May County are dependent on tourism.
She said inflation and higher gas prices led to shorter stays for the lodging industry.
In the past, 39 percent of visitors stayed seven days or longer but that figure has dropped to 28 percent.
Canadians previously stayed 10 to 14 days in the county but that has dropped to one-week stays, Wieland said.
Franz said Steel Pier had more J-1 workers from overseas this year than 2022.
Wieland said Cape May County had about 2,200 J-1 workers this summer. She said since 2020, businesses have changed their operational hours and how they conduct business.
“We still continue to see a lot more of our visitors, based on the economy, doing more take-out and casual dining, so that reduced some of the staffing concerns because it was a different method of serving people,” she said.
Staffing shortages continue to be a large problem for the hospitality industry in Cape May County, Wieland said.
Lacca said meetings and conventions are important to Atlantic City, particularly in the shoulder seasons.
She said a perception of Atlantic City from many years ago was the city was “trashy, dirty and crime ridden.”
“And now, we’re looking pretty good,” she said.
Redoing the facades on the Atlantic City Boardwalk is a priority for Lacca as well as cleaning up Pacific Avenue.
Wieland said the economy will continue to affect travel spending.
“In our market, we talk about being a half a tank of gas away because it’s a 300-mile radius, we talk about our branding being authentically charming, once again we talk about an authentic experience,” she said. “That’s the trend.”
Each of Cape May County’s 16 municipalities has a uniqueness, Wieland said.
Millennials are not coming to Cape May County in sizable numbers, she said, noting the oldest millennials are now 41 years old, have children and mortgages and are looking for the types of activities available in the county.
“What are their needs, what are they’re wants and how do we address that, how do we make that part of the content in our message?” Wieland asked.
Chu said the younger generation is attracted to esports (electronic sports), a competition using video games. She called esports a “door opener” to bring those who like games but not necessarily slot machines.
A total of 78 percent of visitors to Cape May County are return visitors which indicates a small number of new customers, Wieland said.
Wieland said the lodging industry is seeing more overnight stays in the shoulder seasons, especially during multi-day events.
By JACK FICHTER/Sentinel staff