NYC & Company Teaches Borough Businesses How to Capitalize on Tourism Growth

New York City wants to better prepare businesses spread throughout its five boroughs for the city’s continued tourism growth. New York City set a target of 67 million visitors by 2021 after reporting a record 56.4 million visitors for 2014.

The city’s primary tourism organization NYC & Company today announced the new initiative Tourism Ready, which is a series of five seminars held in each borough that help small businesses position themselves within the travel industry.

Seminars will be taught by several NYC & Company executives and outside speakers. Topics will include cross promotion, the packaging of goods and services, and how to better engage tourism trade such as tour operators and marketers to increase visitation and spend.

The first of the series is being held today in the Bronx with five speakers including NYC & Company CEO Fred Dixon, vice president of borough engagement Marry Markowitz and senior vice president of research Donna Keren. Bronx Borough president Ruben Diaz Jr and ALON Marketing Group president Jennifer Ackerson will also speak.

The practical lessons provided in the seminar are a hands-on follow-up to the city’s continuous neighborhoods campaigns that urges tourists to explore the outer boroughs.

Hotel development, and of course Airbnb, are also making the boroughs more accessible to tourists. One-third of the 96 hotels in development for the next two years are located outside of Manhattan.

NYC & Company’s initiative is just one of several on-the-ground advice impacted from tourism boards to their stakeholders.

For example, Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board hosted a trade event in March 2014 as part of its Chinese marketing strategy. The tourism board gave 75 industry executives from hotels, restaurants and travel agencies a primer on Chinese culture.

Visit Tampa Bay created a 25-minute cultural awareness webinar on Indian customers prior to hosting the International Indian Film Academy in February 2014.