The Big Apple wants a bite out of international visitors
New York City is starting its first global advertising campaign to target more international visitors.
The campaign is part of an ambitious strategy in the last year to promote New York City around the globe.
The tourism office, NYC & Company, already has bureaus in places like Dublin, Buenos Aires and London, and plans to open a total of eight offices in 2007, from Toronto to Tokyo.
Despite its reputation as a top destination, the city has never before embarked on a global ad campaign — relying instead on smaller, local efforts in foreign countries.
About 44 million people visited the city in 2006, generating an estimated $24 billion for the local economy and outpacing such cities as Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he would like the city to reach the goal of 50 million annual tourists by 2015.The new ad campaign is expected to launch by the fall, said George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company.
“We’re going to be letting people know that New York City is not just about Manhattan,” said Mr Fertitta, a former advertising executive.
A $15 million budget will help the city to catch up to other major U.S destinations in an increasingly competitive marketplace, Lalia Rach, Associate Dean of the Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism at New York University, told the AP.
“It is catching up — because the money was not there,” she said. “No city, no destination, can live on its laurels — can live on what it assumes is its place in the market.”
NYC & Company’s total yearly budget of $45 million is still a fraction of Las Vegas, for example, where the Convention and Visitors Authority has close to $85 million to spend on advertising that has made “what happens here, stays here” a household phrase.
Report by David Wilkening
David
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements