A historic 12-day stretch earlier this summer that saw two casinos reopen, a beach concert, a midweek Fourth of July and four weekend days with ideal weather contributed to a noticeable increase in visitors to the city, according to traffic data and tourism experts. Based on unofficial traffic figures provided by the South Jersey Transportation Authority from the Atlantic City Expressway Pleasantville Toll Plaza, 818,255 toll-paying vehicles went into and out of the city between June 27 and July 8.
That figure is 49,220 more than the comparable period of June 28 to July 9, 2017 — which includes the holiday and four weekend days of beach weather — and 43,528 more than a similar period in 2016 between June 29 and July 10. Leading up to the scheduled June 28 grand openings of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City and Ocean Resort Casino and the July 1 Sam Hunt beach concert, city officials were anticipating as many as 1 million visitors.