First virtual sales mission by New York City since pandemic

‘NYC an aspirational destination for Indian travellers’
2022-02-25
/
/ New Delhi
First virtual sales mission by New York City since pandemic

The sales mission featured a virtual destination showcase and several one-on-one meetings (Photo: NYC & Company)

With international travel becoming easier as pandemic eases, New York City hosts its first sales activity in India since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.
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NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organisation and convention and visitors bureau for the five boroughs of New York City, held its first virtual sales mission for the travel trade in India since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic from February 21-24.

Representatives of NYC & Company and from eight New York City partners participated in the sales mission and provided updates on the destination and reconnect members of the travel trade with tourism products across the five boroughs.

“In 2019, New York City welcomed a record 336,000 visitors from India, an annual growth of about 3 pc. With countless new and iconic hotels, attractions, restaurants, Broadway shows and more, plus increased flight capacity demonstrating a confidence in the NYC destination, we are bullish on the City’s continued tourism recovery. We look forward to reconnecting with our colleagues in the travel trade during this sales mission and welcoming more Indian visitors to the five boroughs in the year ahead,” says Makiko Matsuda Healy, Managing Director, Tourism Market Development.

NYC & Company says that the Big Apple remains extremely popular in India across various segments of tourists. “From previous statistics, the major pull for Indian travellers were that NYC is aspirational and almost 100 pc of all first-time visitors to the US come to NYC. Secondly, the popular attractions, including Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum of Art are major draws in the City as are entertainment and shopping,” Healy tells India Outbound.

Officials of NYC & Company as well as the various stakeholders from the city present at the sales mission are very optimistic about a strong revival of tourism, especially as the pandemic has ebbed in most parts of the world. “As we turn a corner in combating the pandemic, there is reason to be bullish. Yesterday, we shared with our board of directors the latest forecast for the path ahead. The trajectory for a full recovery shows that 85 pc of our 2019 peak visitation will return this year, that is 56.5 million visitors by the year end. That will be led of course by a strong domestic market in the neighbourhood of 48.4 million travellers, 98 pc of the record levels ever achieved and international making a strong rebound with an estimated 8.1 million visitors, which is 82 pc of the record performance,’’ adds Healy.

The officials say that a full rebound of international and business travel will take longer but would be reached in 2024 and 2025.

Spring, NYC (Photo: NYC & Company)

The sales mission featured a virtual destination showcase and several one-on-one meetings. Participating in the roadshow were leading partners like Broadway Inbound, Disney on Broadway, Empire State Building Observatory, FIT Tours NYC, Hudson Yard, One World Observatory, Summit One Vanderbilt and Tour America LLC.

To make the sales mission some fun as well, NYC & Company hosted a New York City quiz to allow the Indian participants the chance to win exciting gift vouchers.

Part of the sales mission meetings included informing the Indian stakeholders of various new infrastructure upgrades across airports, train stations and the newly-expanded Javits convention center that have taken place in the recent past. It also spoke of the developments in terms of hotels, arts, culture and performing arts, attractions, dining and shopping.

Last month, NYC & Company launched NYC Winter Outing offering citywide deals on hotels, dining, Broadway, museums, attractions, performing arts and tours. In June 2021, NYC & Company launched It’s Time for New York City, the City’s largest-ever, multi-phased global tourism marketing and advertising campaign, including television, digital, outdoor media and partnerships.

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