Picture this: London, Paris, Milan and Rome get back into the groove of recovery but New York City still hasn’t regained its footing. But, according to the New York Times, the Big Apple’s tourism industry just came out of its worst summer for all four major locations in modern times. As the Times reports, one long-term measure, the return of conventions to New York, led to additional positive advertising campaigns on the beachfront and New York City features in tourism films, TV shows and commercials.
However, according to the Times, New York City still has a ways to go to recoup losses. Even though the businesses, hotels and attractions on the boardwalk on Long Island’s Long Island Sound received a late September tourist influx thanks to a group of marathoners, these outlays weren’t quite enough to offset the 13 per cent drop in tourist revenue across New York City’s four major tourism destinations.
Representatives from airlines, attractions and tourism interests all touted the merits of big ideas and experiments, including a 30 per cent discount on international tickets and the possibility of offering more opportunities for tourists to experience the city authentically by adding new attractions such as New York City food trucks and even mobile craft breweries.
The revamped International Shores Commission has already led to a reinvention of the Bermuda Festivals Program, allowing the island of Bermuda to showcase its extravagant wealth on the international tourist map.
The dedicated event, which was discontinued in 2008, provided delegates attending various international confab this August with a glimpse of the history and unique lifestyle of Bermuda with their family vacations. The program has already earned more than $250,000 (£173,471) in new overseas visitors, the largest amount generated from a single event in 20 years.