Last week, 300 members of New York City's tourism industry gathered on the flight deck of the Intrepid Museum to honor 38 colleagues who go above and beyond in delivering superior experiences for NYC visitors. The evening was a chance to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Intrepid Museum and City Guide. City Guide would like to congratulate honoree Ray Winn, who manages the delivery of 3,000,000 copies of City Guide and 1,000,000 City Maps. We also celebrate Eli Marcus and Vincent Timpone, each with a remarkable 34 years serving the industry. Thanks to our sponsors HeliNY Sightseeing, Margaritaville Resort Times Square, and SUMMIT One Vanderbilt.
Cohosts Susan Marenoff, President, Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum and David Miller, CEO of Davler Media, joined by Fred Dixon, President and CEO of NYC & Company at the NYC Tourism Fall Kickoff. Image via @ussintrepid.
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The flight deck begins to fill as 300+ tourism professionals gather for the NYC Tourism Fall Kickoff.
Intrepid honorees Willie Davis, Manager, Group Programs, and Jason Sullivan, Senior Manager, Groups & Tourism, with Intrepid Museum President Susan Marenoff.
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Vincent Timpone and Eli Marcus of City Guide.
The night's honorees gather for a selfie (or two).
Photo ops on the flight deck.
Food and drink went well with the Intrepid Museum's incredible collection of historic aircraft.
For more images of the NYC Tourism Fall Kickoff, visit the Facebook Group NYC Tourism Professionals. (Not a member yet? Join!)
The Intrepid Museum has a video recap of the night here.
You can learn more about the NYC Tourism Fall Kickoff honorees and their accomplishments for NYC tourism and city visitors in the Commemorative Journal here.
NYC TOURISM NEWS AND NOTES
Over and over again at the event we heard that NYC tourism is returning and optimism is running high. Data supports those reports. Hotel demand in NYC is hitting pandemic-era highs (reaching 94% of 2019 benchmarks) and this month NYC has boasted both the highest occupancy and average daily rate in the top U.S. hotel markets.
- The city's return to office is going slowly, but it is trending upwards
- Mass transit ridership is surging
- Hotel News reports return of international and business travel to NYC
- Holidu's Generational Travel Index sees NYC as the #1 U.S. city for Millennials (and #4 globally)
A new Variety piece gives a good overview of the fall season for Broadway, covering both challenges and expectations for growth. “Domestic tourism was the big surprise,” Charlotte St. Martin, president of The Broadway League, says in the article. “Over the summer we saw a stronger return there than anticipated.”
NYC NOTES
- Newark Airport will no longer be considered an NYC hub
- Convention centers are bouncing back; what about the Javits?
- Adams touts strong numbers
NEW NYC IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
- Frida Kahlo, The Immersive Biography Exhibition coming to Brooklyn October 27th
- Beyond King Tut: The Immersive Experience coming October 28th
- Monet’s Garden The Immersive Experience opening November 4th
OTHER NYC OPENINGS
- Sporting club, restaurant, arcade, and beer hall Gamehaus opens in Long Island City
- Giant restaurant, wine bar, and beer garden Ainslie opening on the Lower East Side
- New cocktail bar Lady Blue opening in Hell's Kitchen
- New cocktail spot Shinji’s coming to the Flatiron
- Live music and an American smokehouse menu at Harlem's new The Porch
- New Singapore-style food hall Urban Hawker now open in Midtown West
- Don Draper-esque American brasserie The Vasper now open in Midtown East
- José Andrés launches cocktail destination Nubeluz at The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad
- CityPickle pickleball concept opening in Hudson Yards on Saturday
- New exhibition space Print Center New York to open next week
- Massive international Olly Olly Market opening October 26th in the Starrett-Lehigh Building
- Bank of America Winter Village returns October 28th
- City Winery Grand Central Terminal opening November 1st
- The Museum of Broadway opening November 15th
- New Carlo’s Bakeshop location coming to Times Square
- Amaze Light Festival bringing holiday adventure to Citi Field
- NYC Winter Lantern Festival returning, with locations in Queens, Staten Island, and Long Island
BEYOND NYC
- Hotel and airfare inflation level off
- (But air ticket sales doubled year over year)
- U.S. tourists are spending 35% more than a year ago
- Cost of living starting to impact travel plans
- Retail spending surprisingly high
- Marriott CEO talks bleisure
CLOSING TIME
- Upper West Side Mermaid Inn to close (and open new location in Times Square)
- Former W New York/The Maxwell headed to foreclosure auction
- Phantom sets closing date (as do Beetlejuice and The Music Man)
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