NYC & COMPANY TRAVELS TO WEST COAST TO INVITE ANGELENOS TO DISCOVER THE NEW NEW YORK CITY
NYC & COMPANY TRAVELS TO WEST COAST TO INVITE ANGELENOS TO DISCOVER THE “NEW” NEW YORK CITY
—Five Borough Destination Presents to Key Travel, Lifestyle and Entertainment Media in Los Angeles, NYC’s Leading Long-Haul Domestic Market—
—Event Showcases New Brand Partnerships with Beautiful Destinations, Holiday Film ‘The Greatest Showman’ and the James Beard Foundation to Encourage Domestic Travel Through 2018—
Los Angeles (October 12, 2017) – At a press conference this afternoon at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles, NYC & Company, New York City’s official destination marketing organization, presented new destination updates, developments and highlights of the “New” New York City to an audience of 50 key Los Angeles–based travel, lifestyle and entertainment media and influencers. In 2016, NYC welcomed 1.9 million visitors from the state of California, and the Los Angeles metro market is the City’s leading long-haul domestic market.
NYC & Company president and CEO Fred Dixon and Senior Vice President of Global Communications Chris Heywood outlined NYC & Company programs and new developments that include hotels, infrastructure, attractions, culture, major events and more. In addition, Jeremy Jauncey, founder and CEO of Beautiful Destinations, presented on his experiences living and working in New York City and his new collaboration with NYC & Company. Additional brand partners were announced, including 20th Century Fox on its upcoming film The Greatest Showman and the James Beard Foundation on a new culinary tourism effort.
“The ‘New’ New York City is experiencing a period of momentous growth with groundbreaking developments across all five boroughs,” said Dixon. “We’re pleased to be in Los Angeles, a key domestic travel market, to showcase the many reasons why Californians should book their next visit now to the ‘New’ New York City.”
"There has never been a more exciting time to call New York City home, and despite traveling all over the world, there is still nothing that compares to the feeling of returning to the City,” said Mr. Jauncey. “New York has been a huge part of my life for the last ten years, and I could not be more honored and excited to be involved in promoting the 'New' New York City.”
New York City is always changing and evolving. Among key infrastructure developments are LinkNYC, offering free WiFi across all five boroughs; the new Second Avenue Subway; the introduction of NYC Ferry; redevelopments at all three major local airports; and an expansion at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Evolving neighborhoods include the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States, Hudson Yards, which will debut in 2018–19 with 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, including Thomas Heatherwick’s Vessel and The Shed, the first multi-art center designed to commission, produce and present varied types of art and popular culture. Additional developments include the Seaport District NYC, opening summer 2018 in Lower Manhattan, with 400,000 square feet of culinary, fashion and entertainment experiences, as well as upcoming developments in Staten Island’s Destination St. George with the Empire Outlets (spring 2018) and the New York Wheel, set to be the tallest observation wheel in the world.
New York City has the most active hotel development pipeline in the country, with 113,700 hotel rooms as of September 2017 and an expected inventory of 139,000 hotel rooms by the end of 2019. Noteworthy hotel property openings include 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge (opened February 2017), The Whitby Hotel (debuted February 2017), Public, an Ian Schrager Hotel (opened June 2017), MOXY NYC Times Square (opened September 2017), New York EDITION Times Square (early 2018) and The Hoxton Brooklyn (early 2018).
Blockbuster events coming to the five boroughs include Leonard Bernstein at 100 (2017–18), the 60th Annual Grammy Awards (January 28, 2018), the sixth annual NYCxDESIGN (May 11–23, 2018) and WorldPride 2019. World-renowned artist Ai Weiwei, in partnership with Public Art Fund, has debuted Ai Weiwei: Good Fences Makes Good Neighbors, a five-borough exhibition inspired by the international migration crisis, on display beginning today through February 11, 2018.
New attractions include those in the “New” Midtown Manhattan with Gulliver’s Gate (opened May 2017), National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey (opened October 2017), NFL Experience Times Square (November 2017) and Opry City Stage (November 2017). Productions coming to Broadway in 2017–18 include SpongeBob Square Pants (December 2017), Frozen (March 2018), Mean Girls (April 2018) and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (April 2018), among others.
During the event, Heywood highlighted winter 2018 dates for NYC & Company’s popular biannual programs that offer special deals on live theater, restaurants and attractions in New York City. Having celebrated its 25th anniversary this past summer, NYC Restaurant Week® will take place this winter, January 22 to February 9, 2018, with reservations open January 8. NYC Broadway WeekSM will return from January 16 to February 4, with tickets on sale January 5. NYC Off-Broadway WeekSM will then follow February 12 to February 25, with tickets on sale January 29. Returning for its second year, NYC Attractions WeekSM will return January 29 to February 11, with tickets on sale January 18. Therefore, with multiple value programs taking place over the same dates in January 2018, this winter will provide visitors with an opportune time to visit and save.
NYC & Company is partnering with Beautiful Destinations’ Jeremy Jauncey to further highlight the excitement and vibrancy of the City, leveraging the travel industry entrepreneur’s social media channels to spotlight the best of New York City through the end of the year. On Instagram, Mr. Jauncey can be found @jeremyjauncey, and Beautiful Destinations content can be viewed @beautifuldestinations, @beautifulcuisines and @beautifulhotels.
Considered the dining capital of the world, New York City is a destination for those seeking unique and new culinary experiences. To help tell the City’s culinary story to travelers, NYC & Company has partnered with NYC’s own James Beard Foundation, a culinary non-profit and leader in America’s culinary community. New York City restaurants and chefs have won more James Beard Awards than any other U.S. city, and the James Beard Foundation’s historic James Beard House in the West Village is one of NYC’s most sought-after culinary establishments, featuring culinary talent from around the country as many as 200 nights a year.
NYC & Company has also partnered with 20th Century Fox to support the launch of the film The Greatest Showman, coming to theaters worldwide on Christmas Day, starring Hugh Jackman as showman P.T. Barnum, with songwriting by Tony and Academy Award–winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. “The Greatest New York City” campaign will inspire travel to New York City by bringing together key movie elements with extraordinary experiences that make New York City the Greatest City in the World—the city that inspired Barnum’s life as a showman.
Additional recent announcements for NYC & Company include a partnership with Chute to launch a first-ever Destination Concierge using a chat bot platform to reach travelers through Facebook Messenger, and a global communications initiative to showcase New York City as a fitness and wellness destination, which debuted with a sunrise yoga class for media on the Observation Deck of the Empire State Building this past September.
New York City welcomed 60.5 million visitors in 2016, the City’s seventh consecutive year for record-breaking tourism, with 47.8 million domestic and 12.7 million international visitors. The destination is expected to surpass its 2016 record, by welcoming 61.8 million visitors in 2017.
About NYC & Company:
NYC & Company is the official destination marketing organization for the City of New York, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide. For the official source on all there is to see and do in New York City, go to nycgo.com.
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NYC & Company/Kim Klein 212-484-1270