Atlantic City Seeks to Be Destination for Gay Travellers

Before Asbury Park and Rehoboth were the go-to beaches for gay travelers, Atlantic City was an extremely popular destination for the traveler LGBTQ travelers. Back in 1960s, AC was a gay Mecca. Swanky New York Avenue was the home of 12 bars, multiple gay rooming houses, posh gay-friendly restaurants, and much, much more. In the days before Stonewall, Atlantic City was a well-known home to the gay visitor. Then, it all went away...

Till today, now members of the gay and gay-friendly community are pleased to announce the formation of the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance. The Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance is a private, non-profit, membership supported organization dedicated to promoting and improving the economic, social, and political advocacy of the GLBT and GLBT supportive businesses and citizens in the greater Atlantic City region. It's a gay chamber of commerce, similar to the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce or Philadelphia's Independence Business Alliance.

The GLBT Alliance will place itself in the forefront of important issues facing the gay community including economic growth and development, advocacy and tourism development. By building small businesses, working with professionals in corporations, supporting non-profit organizations aimed at gay issues, and encouraging the general community to support those that support their rights, the GLBT Alliance will reach its goals.

In the past three decades, Atlantic City has made every effort to become a popular destination for all travelers. Along with it's natural beauty, and considerable gaming presences, the city has worked hard to attract a high-profile and affluent group of regional and national visitors. With competition from other ports of call never being more fierce than today, Atlantic City has decided to return to the forefront as a gay friendly destination.

"It's time for us to wake up and smell the pink champagne," said The Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance President, Rich Helfant. "We are actively courting a return of the gay clientele."

Helfrant points out that Atlantic City has world class shopping, dining, and casinos. The city has been made famous internationally by such glamour benchmarks as "The Miss America" pageant, the Borgata, and a street-layout made famous Monopoly. Yet, Rehoboth Beach, DE and Asbury, NJ are more popular to the gay beachcomber. Surveys conducted amongst gay travelers have shown that the only component Atlantic City is missing as a gay destination is nightlife.

"We need more gay and gay friendly restaurants and nightclubs as well as other types of social activities to support both the GLBT traveler as well as those that live and work in our region," said Helfant, "Thirty-three million people visit Atlantic City annually and of those, 3.3 million are gay."

As if kismet, one of the major AC business players is also diving into the gay arena. Gambling giant Harrah's has mounted several incredibly successful GLBTQ promotions with its Las Vegas properties, announced that it is beginning special gay themed promotions in Atlantic City.

The Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance isn't just to promote visits from gay tourists, it is also designed to help enrich and empower the current year-round gay population. At least more than 300,000 people live and work in our region and of those, 30,000 are probably identifying as LGBTQ.

"Those of us who are gay and live here, we want to see a positive change in our community. The region's gay population can use the organization to network, strengthen community ties, and build great relationships."

Membership in the Greater Atlantic City GLBT Alliance is open to all, regardless of sexual orientation. The only criteria for membership is that individual must reside in New Jersey and business members must own/work for an established business in New Jersey."

"We are hoping to attract people from all types of industry, said Helfant. "I expect we will have a lot of people from the food and beverage industry, as well as nightlife and entertainment. But we are also a great opportunity for people from the financial sector, retail, realty, and anyone who wants to further the growth of the GLBT community in the Atlantic City area. "

The organization plans to hold its first major gala and membership drive in January, 2010, in Atlantic City.
Individuals or businesses interested in joining The GLBT Alliance should contact Larry Sieg at 609-449-7129 or via email at lsieg@accva.com.