Atlanta: accessible, but not very romantic

"Atlanta does not fare quite as well with respect to recreational attitudes," Metropoll said.

The results, released Tuesday by the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau -- the city's main tourism and convention organ -- paints a portrait of a city that is making strides in some areas while stuck in the muck in others.

The city improved its rank as a convention stop -- up three points to No. 9 --  and as a vacation destination -- up three to No. 33 --  over 2007, the poll found. But nightlife -- once a huge draw in the Buckhead Village -- was below average and the city continues to be dinged on crime rate and "things to do."

"Looking over the year, the things that we are good at hasn't changed and the things that we are bad at haven't changed," said Georgia State University marketing professor Ken Bernhardt, who will become ACVB chairman in 2010.

ACVB President William Pate cautioned that the numbers reflect the opinions of meeting planners that have been here in the last 10 years as well as those that haven't. He said the goal is to get meeting planners who haven't been to Atlanta in while to the city to show off the product.

"It's like trying to explain the (Georgia) aquarium to someone who has never been there," he said. On the surface, Atlanta, like the world's largest fish tank, sounds impressive, but it's not until you visit that the "wow" is evident, he said.

The poll results come at a time when visitation numbers, also released Tuesday by the ACVB, show visits to the city dropped in 2008, the latest numbers available. The city had 37 million visitors in 2007, but saw 35 million in 2008.

Hospitality leaders blamed the decline on the economy and spike last year in oil, which forced many Americans to cancel or curtail vacations. The visitation drop is being seen in other cities as well.

"In ‘09 we are expecting the same thing," Kate Stuart, the ACVB's director of research, said. "We are expecting a drop. We don't know how much of a drop."

The decline has affected spending slightly, with the metro area taking in $11 billion in 2008 instead of $11.4 billion.

But there was good news in the visitation numbers. Business travelers are staying longer and spending more during their stay, the numbers indicate.  Business spending has gone from $169 per day to $199.