The initiative successfully strengthened ties with the Indian travel industry, positioning New York City as a premier travel destination
New York City Tourism + Conventions, the city’s official destination marketing organisation, has concluded its annual sales mission in India, held from January 29 to February 3 across Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Delhi.
According to a press statement by the board, the sales mission was led by a delegation of six tourism partners along with Turkish Airlines, which was a part of the Mumbai events.
New York City Tourism + Conventions says that along with its partners, it participated in a series of events, appointments and meetings throughout the mission that was aimed at re-engaging the travel trade across the market. The initiative successfully strengthened ties with the Indian travel industry, positioning New York City as a premier travel destination.
New York City Tourism + Conventions is the official global partner of IGLTA Foundation for their 2nd annual symposium in India.
The board goes on to say that India continues to be a significant source of international visitors to New York City and this mission underscores the city’s commitment to providing Indian travellers with a warm welcome and a memorable experience.
It adds that as part of this mission, representatives of the NYC Tourism delegation engaged with key stakeholders and travel agencies in three feeder cities including Ahmedabad, first time post pandemic and showcased the diverse offerings that New York City has for Indian travellers.
Makiko Matsuda Healy
“We were pleased to be back in India, a rapidly growing feeder market for New York City tourism, for our annual sales mission. Recently, we introduced the Travel Trade Academy programme, thoughtfully enriched with Hindi subtitles to ensure that the Indian travel trade can fully engage with the five-borough destination. By incorporating Hindi subtitles, we aim to empower the trade to adeptly respond to evolving consumer demands, providing a diverse and personalised array of NYC experiences that resonate with the preferences of the Indian audience,’’ says Makiko Matsuda Healy, Senior Vice President, Tourism Market Development for New York City Tourism + Conventions.
The sales mission also announced the launch of the NYC Travel Trade Academy is a free, online, educational training tool, available with subtitles in 10 languages including Hindi. It is a self-driven learning platform to equip the global travel trade with essential destination knowledge about New York City.
The statement adds that the academy aims to showcase a broad range of products and services, both new and established, in each of the five boroughs to inspire travel operators and agents to build New York itineraries for their customers.
It says that NYC Tourism delegation’s participating partners in the mission included the Empire State Building, Trump International Hotel and Tower NY, Hudson Yards, Millennium Hotels, Circle Line Sightseeing Cruises, and Madame Tussauds. In Mumbai New York City Tourism + Conventions also partnered with the US Consulate General, Mumbai.
The sales mission this year featured a range of activities, including business-to-business meetings and networking events, the statement adds. Through these engagements, NYC Tourism + Convention showcased the city’s iconic landmarks, diverse neighbourhoods, world-renowned dining, shopping and entertainment options.
The statement says that New York City is home to the world’s busiest airport system and the number one port of entry for US international travellers. New York City welcomed a total of 61.8 million travellers in 2023, marking a recovery of 93 pc of the city’s record 2019 visitation levels. It remains on track to welcome 64.5 million visitors this year.
The board says that in 2023, New York City welcomed 336,000 Indian travellers, with 383,000 expected to visit this year.
