Big Apple Goes More Global
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 3/19/2007
NYC & Co., New York City's tourism, marketing and events agency, has added four new international offices and boosted funding by $15 million as part of a strategy to attract 50 million annual visitors to the city by 2015.
At ITB Berlin, an international tourism industry trade fair, New York officials announced the opening of offices in Madrid, Moscow, Stockholm and Amsterdam, bringing NYC & Co.'s total number of foreign operations to 11.
"We are capitalizing on our strong economy, the value of the dollar versus foreign currencies, historic lows in the city's crime rate, the vibrancy of our cultural attractions and many other factors," said George Fertitta, NYC & Co. CEO. "Our job is to think well into the future and, with Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg's investment, it provides us with the financial wherewithal to achieve goals that before now were never even contemplated."
The number of tourists in New York City has increased steadily since 2002, with an estimated 44 million in 2006.
