New York City has launched a major new initiative, ‘NYC Reawakens,’ to signal city’s reopening and comeback. At a virtual press conference on April 21, the city’s official destination marketing organisation, NYC & Company, presented the new initiative to over 200 members of the national and international media, including ITTN.
Just before the press conference, NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon joined Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chef Daniel Boulud at the Mayor’s daily news briefing to announce details of a $30 million marketing campaign whose ultimate aim is to bring over 36 million visitors to the city in 2021 – more than 50 per cent of the record 66.6 million that visited New York City in 2019.
“Tourism accounts for hundreds of thousands of jobs in this city, and building a recovery for all of us means welcoming tourists back to the greatest travel destination in the world. The ‘NYC Reawakens’ initiative will show travellers everywhere that New York City is not only ready to host them – it’s creating a fairer, better, and more vibrant city than ever before,” said Mayor of the City of New York Bill de Blasio.
“As the ship turns toward tourism recovery, we’re pleased to present ‘NYC Reawakens’ as a call to action to encourage visitors and meetings delegates to plan and visit the five boroughs this year and experience the City’s unmatched energy, excitement and dynamism. With a packed cultural calendar, world-class hotels, a new outdoor dining scene and so much more, visitors can experience the best of everything right here in New York City. We’re so grateful to be collaborating with Mayor de Blasio to launch this unprecedented marketing campaign later this Spring to draw visitors back to the greatest city in the world,” said NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon.
“Tourism is one of the pillars of our economy, there is no recovery without it. I applaud the Administration and NYC & Company taking the initiative with the ‘NYC Reawakens’ campaign and making a proactive investment in our recovery and our future,” said New York City Council Member Paul Vallone.
In 2021, NYC & Company is predicting 36.4 million visitors to the City. In 2020, the City welcomed 22.3 million visitors. In 2024, the City is expected to exceed its prior 2019 record of 66.6 million visitors with an anticipated 69.3 million visitors.
At today’s press conference, NYC & Company announced the dates for NYC Summer Restaurant Week—the popular program will run from July 20-August 15. NYC & Company also reinforced its commitment to promoting the City’s vibrant multicultural offerings, including the recently launched “The Black Experience in NYC.” Latino and AAPI content will also be rolled out later this year on NYCgo.com.
NYC & Company also provided a summary of New York City’s new 2021 developments and openings including hotels, restaurants, attractions, retail offerings, meetings venues and more—for a sampling of this content, media can access the press release, “10 Ways to Experience What’s New in NYC.” For meetings delegates, a newly-expanded Javits Center awaits along with attractive hybrid meetings venues throughout the City. A “Meet Local NYC” campaign recently launched by NYC & Company calls on local corporations and businesses to hold their next meeting or retreat in the five boroughs. On the hotels front, 110,000 rooms are expected to be available in the City’s inventory by year’s end.
Leisure travel from Ireland to the United States remains curtailed due to ongoing pandemic restrictions, but there’s little doubt that this new campaign merely whets Irish appetites for when we can once more travel to a city that many Irish consider to be just another county!
