ATLANTIC CITY — With no Atlantic City Airshow this August for the first time in 21 years — other than skipping 2020 due to COVID-19 — don't expect the city to feel empty, tourism experts say.
"Casinos always do a great job attracting visitors in summer. There are tons of things to do ... with or without the airshow," said Mark Giannantonio, president of the Casino Association of New Jersey and president and CEO of Resorts Casino Hotel.
What will be lost is the opportunity to show the city as something more than just a gaming destination, he said, and the city needs to develop a broader image for long-term success.
"We have to figure this out," Giannantonio said. "This has to be recurring every year."
The airshow was supposed to happen Aug. 13 and 14, but after the highlight of the show, the Polaris Ghost Squadron, canceled its planned appearance, organizers pulled the plug.
Polaris was contracted after the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds said they could not perform here in 2024, because they were no longer doing midweek shows.
Polaris had a close call at the Fort Lauderdale Airshow in May, when two of its jets touched wings but were able to land safely. The group canceled Atlantic City in the aftermath, while it works to improve safety.
State Sen. Vince Polistina, R-Atlantic, said Friday the airshow could have and should have moved forward without Polaris.
"We wouldn't have another negative headline," he said. "Now people are left wondering if they will bring it back next year."
The city this year also lost the big-name beach concerts it had hosted for years, after the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority said it could no longer fund them, and smaller but popular events like the Atlantic City Beer and Music Festival set for Bader Field last month.
Casino rooms around the city will still be fully occupied, Giannantonio predicted, but the cancellation may mean hotels have to charge less for rooms.
"Room occupancy is always 100% in the summer months," Giannantonio said. "But (the airshow) fortifies our rates. ... It is going to be missed."
The concern goes beyond the city or Atlantic County borders.
"I was disappointed to learn that the Atlantic City Airshow has been canceled. The Airshow is a popular annual event that brings visitors to Atlantic City and generates business for South Jersey as a whole," said Assemblyman William F. Moen Jr., D-Camden, Gloucester, and chairman of the Assembly Tourism, Gaming and the Arts Committee. "I realize this was a difficult decision made by the event organizers, and I hope that the Airshow is able to return next year."
The Greater Atlantic City Chamber has run the airshow since its inception.
Chamber President Michael Chait said the cancellation had nothing to do with funding but was strictly due to the loss of Polaris.
"Rumors out there are we didn't get the money. They are all inaccurate. We have the money," Chait said of $300,000 from the South Jersey Transportation Authority, arranged in March by Gov. Phil Murphy when the chamber was considering canceling the airshow over a lack of funds.
"The city has been a tremendous partner; it has nothing to do with the city," Chait said.
Rumors can be damaging. "Losing a 'headline' event can have an impact — especially when it is covered prominently in the press — and may imply that there are negative forces at play even when there aren't," said Jane Bokunewicz, faculty director of the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism at Stockton University. "Unless news about the cancellation is balanced by focusing on the availability of other events and the fact that repositioning the resources dedicated to these events could have a positive effect, it can be damaging in the long term certainly to visitor perceptions if nothing else."
There are plenty of other activities available to entertain visitors in Atlantic City, Bokunewicz said, such as music and other performances in the casinos and at the Orange Loop's Anchor Rock Club.
"For example, Mardi Gras AC on the Boardwalk and Chicken Bone Beach Jazz on the Beach are bringing live music to Kennedy Plaza on Wednesdays and Thursdays throughout the summer, and the Peach at the Beach music festival is coming to Island Waterpark this weekend," Bokunewicz said.
There is limited data on the economic and other impacts of specific large events, she said, such as the airshow and beach concerts.
"While Atlantic City will likely lose the economic activity generated from the logistics of putting on such events (security, equipment rentals, event sponsorships, etc.), it may lose less than we initially may think in terms of visitor spending," Bokunewicz said. "These events were being held in the summer when visitor volumes are naturally high in comparison to other times of the year. Visitors may still be coming to the city in July and August (certainly on holiday weekends) regardless of whether an event is being held and still spending at local businesses."
For residents, even big cancellations are more of a mixed bag.
"Research suggests that the loss of events ... can have impacts on shared community identity and feelings of pride of place," Bokunewicz said. "However, the loss of events that negatively impact residents' quality of life (for example through vandalism, traffic congestion and noise) can have a positive impact on their wellbeing."
What feels like a loss could be seen as a positive development, she said, "if organizers use this as an opportunity to present new events at different times of the year when they have the potential to have a greater economic impact."
And sometimes a cancellation is really the result of organizers trying to expand.
"Keep in mind that the Beer Fest was being offered for a second time in 2024 — an earlier event was held at the Convention Center in April," Bokunewicz said. "This was the first year that the event organizer scheduled two events in one year."
REPORTER: Michelle Brunetti Post 609-841-2895 [email protected]