“As Atlantic City goes, that’s how the state is going to go.” So says the head of the state’s tourism division about Atlantic City’s role in meeting Gov. Phil Murphy’s challenge to increase overall Garden State visitation nearly 26% by 2023.
“When the governor comes in and says ‘I want 150 million visitors’, he knows it has to come from Atlantic City,” said Jeff Vasser, executive director for the state Division of Travel and Tourism, referring to the goal set by Murphy earlier this year with the release of 2018 numbers that reported statewide visitation increased 7.4% to 110.8 million. “The only way we’re going to get there is a strong Atlantic City.”