Fred Dixon, president and chief executive of NYC and Co, was keen to reinforce a message of openness to delegates at IPW in Washington last week.
“While we don’t control the borders, we will always welcome tourists with open arms,” Dixon said.
The sentiment was echoed by the city’s marketing campaign, titled “New York City – Welcoming the World”, which was launched in March.
The campaign aims to reinforce the destination’s diversity and welcoming spirit in light of Trump’s proposed travel ban.
Other inclusive initiatives include the launch of Accessible NYC this month, a website channel on nycgo.com promoting accessible travel to those with disabilities.
The city will also welcome World Pride in 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. “We encourage visitors to celebrate Pride across the five boroughs and experience New York City’s incredibly vibrant LGBT community,” said Dixon.
He heralded Midtown Manhattan for its new developments that would appeal to international visitors.
“The ‘new’ New York City… is experiencing a period of momentous growth with groundbreaking developments,” he said. “We are proud to showcase the many reasons visitors should choose the city’s five boroughs now for their next holiday.”
Dixon was joined by representatives from three new Midtown attractions: miniature world Gulliver’s Gate, immersive VR experience National Geographic Encounter: Ocean Odyssey, and NFL Experience Times Square.
The focus on enticing families to New York was re-echoed by Dixon’s announcement that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles would be the city’s official family ambassadors for the second year running.
Dixon also revealed plans to ramp up the city’s hotel offering, with an expected inventory of 137,000 hotel rooms by 2019. The city already has the most active hotel development pipeline in the country, with 113,000 hotel rooms as of May 2017.
