The next few months will be an important time as New York City (NYC) readies to welcome a new mayor in 2014. Thus far, a full field of mayoral hopefuls has been outlining plans to support various industries from around the NYC, but none have made any forceful commitments to tourism, the NYC's fastest-growing industry, supporting 363,000 jobs and generating $55 billion in economic impact. In response, NYC & Company released the first-ever official comprehensive report on New York City's tourism industry, New York City Tourism: A Model for Success. This report marks the first step in a multi-pronged effort to engage the candidates and ensure that tourism is appropriately represented in any discussion about New York City's future.
Emily K. Rafferty, chairman of the board of NYC & Company and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and George Fertitta, CEO of NYC & Company, today announced the release of "New York City Tourism: A Model for Success," the first-ever official report on New York City's tourism industry.
The report highlights the exceptional growth of the tourism industry after the 2006 merger of NYC & Company, NYC Big Events, and NYC Marketing to form a revolutionary public-private municipal marketing and tourism model that has been emulated by destinations around the world. Since the creation of the re-envisioned NYC & Company, NYC has seen a record 52 million visitors, an all-time high of $55.3 billion in economic impact and a 27 percent increase in leisure and hospitality jobs—the most of any industry over the last seven years.
"Tourism's robust growth since 2006 is no accident—it was the result of an innovative model and deliberate strategy to target emerging international markets and promote the diversity of tourism activities across all five boroughs," said Emily K. Rafferty, chairman of the board of NYC & Company and president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "In order to maintain this momentum and reach our goal of 55 million visitors and $70 billion in economic impact by 2015, the industry will be looking for continued investment and support from the next administration."
With the report, NYC & Company aims to start a dialogue about the importance of the tourism industry and highlight NYC & Company's accomplishments as the official marketing, partnership and tourism organization for the City of New York. NYC & Company's team will set up introductory meetings with the candidates to discuss the state of New York City tourism in more detail. Its hope is that this will spur more public debate on key industry issues.
Since 2006, the City has set new visitation records in six out of seven years while the tourism industry created 78,200 new leisure and hospitality jobs. Over the past seven years, numerous industry sectors experienced exponential growth including hotels, cultural institutions, the conventions and tradeshows market, dining, retail, Broadway and entertainment. The report highlights several key data points reflecting this continued success, including:
- Record 11 million international visitors, a 52 percent increase over last six years
- Record 363,050 hospitality and leisure jobs
- Record 29 million hotel room-nights sold
- 167 new hotel properties, including 72 hotels outside of Manhattan
- Record annual 24.5 million cultural visitors, up 30 percent since 2006
- 95 percent increase in direct spending from convention visitors
- 23 million retail shoppers helping generate $8 billion in spending
- 12 million Broadway attendees in 2012
New York City tourism continues to be one of the strongest and most stable tax bases that benefit not just NYC but all of New York State. In 2012, visitor spending generated $9.3 billion in taxes, including $3.3 billion in city taxes. When compared to the $13.8 million city budgetary line item for tourism, these city tax receipts represent an approximate 24,000% return on investment. In fact, travel and tourism lowered the tax bill of each NYC household by an average of $1,500 in state and local taxes, according to the report.
Meetings and Conventions
One of the best and most efficient ways to generate visitation and fill hotel rooms is through the recruitment of conventions, meetings, and trade shows. These events typically draw thousands of delegates and consumers to NYC. While New York City has always been a top-of-mind destination for these kinds of events, NYC & Company found that procedural and recruitment inefficiencies were leading to lost business. To this end, the organization established off-site teams dedicated to pursuing opportunities in the Midwest and western regions of the country. Additionally, NYC & Company is exploring ways to aid NYC–based trade shows in expanding their international presence to help draw more people and make NYC even more attractive for organizers.
As a result, the number of delegates to NYC has increased 30%, economic impact has gone up 98%, and direct spending has grown 95%. In 2012, the NYC had more conventioneers than Las Vegas, despite having only 2.3 million square feet of convention space compared to its 10.6 million square feet.
Trade Shows Committee
In an effort to best serve and respond to the needs of such a diverse member base, NYC & Company established six board committees: Arts and Culture; Dining; Retail; Trade Shows; Hotels; and Broadway, Entertainment and Attractions. These committees help provide critical consumer insight from the private sector, often helping our organization create or enhance marketing and promotional initiatives to maximize business opportunities and grow tourism as a whole.
According to the Trade Shows Committee, with its centralized location and close proximity to major subway hubs, midtown hotels, shopping areas and Broadway, the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center accentuates NYC's strengths and attracts major shows. Despite some challenges and high costs, most organizers and delegates find the attendance boost that comes with being in the heart of the NYC worth the investment and are more than willing to work around these issues. Furthermore, with the completion of the Javits Center expansion and renovations, the 7 train expansion and the Hudson Yards development project, Javits is quickly developing into a state-of-the-art convention center on par with any in the country. In fact, Javits is so popular that few dates are available to accommodate all the shows looking to come to NYC.
To keep these shows in NYC, the Trade Shows Committee says that the five boroughs need more convention, meetings and trade show space. With more space and facilities to recruit with, NYC & Company would be able to more proactively target the meetings business in particular and generate millions in economic impact in the process. An ideal solution, says the committee, would be the Willets Point, Queens, development project that proposes a new convention center. The committee indicates that "as an industry are open to exploring all options."
The report notes that the bottom line is that areas across NYC—particularly with access to hotels and transportation hubs—are missing out on millions of dollars from shows and delegates that were unable to find a suitable location. Looking ahead, NYC & Company wants to work with NYC to find solutions. Investment and support will be needed to capture this lost business and grow New York City's share of this lucrative market.
Members of the NYC & Company Trade Shows Committee are: Jack Withiam, Jr., chair, Exhibition Services & Management; Marian Bossard, Toy Industry Association; Dr. Robert Edwab, Greater New York Dental Meeting; Mike Fiorentino International Association of Exhibitions and Events, New York Chapter; Mike Grant, Reed Exhibitions; Britton Jones, Business Journals; Alan Liebensohn, New York International, Automobile Show; and Chris Nemchek, Specialty Food Association.