August in Atlantic City wasn't necessarily as horrendous as it seemed to be, according to figures released by the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority.

There's no denying a 16.3 percent decrease in gaming revenue from last August is yet another serious blow to the industry that had hoped to see an economic turnaround during the summer that never materialized. But according to the following press release, there were some bright spots away from the slot machines and gaming tables:

                             Atlantic City Tourism Business Shows Strong Summer Results

(September 10, 2009, Atlantic City, NJ) -- Atlantic City’s restaurants, attractions and other tourism indicators provide a positive picture of summer business, once again defying the mixed results presented by other regional destinations. Even a cloudy, late Labor Day weekend proved positive for some.

"By all indications, a rainy June and a late Labor Day had minimal overall effect on several segments of the tourism market," said Jeff Vasser, president of the Atlantic City Convention & Visitors Authority (ACCVA). "Our visitors enjoyed the local attractions and restaurants, and hotel occupancy statistics reported by some of our partners far outshine the national average."

With traffic counts on the Atlantic City Expressway down overall for the summer, "We can only surmise that more people chose to stay for multi-day vacations instead of day trips – especially those coming from a distance who took advantage of all the new air and train transportation options that have become available in the last year," Vasser added.

Resorts Atlantic City reports that room occupancy in July was at 95.8 percent and remained high in August at 95.1 percent. Nationwide, occupancy rates averaged 64.1 percent in July, according to Smith Travel Research. Full national occupancy statistics for August are not yet available, but are expected to hover in the same range as July’s. At Carisbrooke Inn in Ventnor, occupancy was up 5.5 percent from July 1 through Labor Day. And Atlantic City Central Reservations, Inc., which operates the booking engine on the ACCVA’s Web site, www.atlanticcitynj.com, reports that bookings attributed to the ACCVA were up about 25 percent for the Labor Day weekend and up 16 percent for the summer over 2008’s bookings.

"These figures are in line with the number of occupied rooms nights we’ve seen for the first half of the year from the Atlantic City casinos," according to Vasser. There were slight increases in occupied room nights for both the first and second quarters of 2009, according to figures released earlier this year by the Casino Control Commission.

If Carmine’s Restaurant at The Quarter in Tropicana is any indication, Atlantic City’s restaurants also fared well. Carmine’s reports an increase in total guest counts for lunch and dinner this summer, with several record-breaking revenue days.

Atlantic City’s attractions also reported increases. The Atlantic City Aquarium hosted 20 percent more guests this Labor Day weekend than in 2008, capping off increased revenue in June, July and August, with August business up a total of 30 percent. Steel Pier reports a slight increase in attendance over 2008, with a significant increase in the volume of guests who came from hotels and casino resorts, including guests from as far as Utah. Lucy the Elephant in Margate also had a successful summer season, with a 20 percent increase over 2008, and reports that the Sunday of Labor Day weekend was nearly twice as busy as last year.

Vasser also notes that special events such as the annual Atlantic City Airshow "Thunder Over the Boardwalk" and the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival were large draws. The Airshow attracted approximately 750,000 people for the one-day event.

This is not to say they’re ready to party like it’s 2005 in Atlantic City. But it's pretty much an article of faith that if AyCee is going to survive, it'll will non-gaming amenities that will be its lifeblood. The above numbers suggest the town is on the right track.