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Big Apple looks to Big Smoke for tourists
New York opening promotion offices in Toronto and Montreal this year
Mar 13, 2007 04:30 AM
John Spears
City Hall Bureau
Here comes New York.
The Big Apple's tourism agency says it's going to open tourist promotion offices in Toronto and Montreal this year to help it hit ambitious growth targets.
Tourism Toronto says it has no plans to counter with an office in New York or to match its office expansion program.
New York City has 11 international tourism offices and plans to add, besides the Canadian ones, one or more in Asia this year, with more coming in 2008.
Toronto, with a much smaller budget, has only three, targeted to well-defined audiences – in Ottawa, Chicago and Washington, D.C. – with one in London, England, to open later this year.
In typically understated New York style, the promotion agency NYC & Company says it aims to "build a global network – and in the process remake the face of New York City's travel and tourism industry."
By opening Canadian offices, New York is reinforcing success. Canada is New York City's second biggest international tourist market, after the United Kingdom. NYC & Company figures show the city had 1.17 million British visitors in 2005, compared with 815,000 from Canada and 401,000 from third-place Germany.
Including Americans, the city played host to 44 million visitors. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has set a target of attracting 50 million a year by 2015.
NYC & Company spokesperson Chris Heywood said the Toronto office will mainly promote leisure travel.
But Andrew Weir, vice-president of Tourism Toronto, said his agency finds external offices most effective in promoting conventions and business travel. Hence the choice of cities where there are heavy concentrations of business groups that plan conventions.
The London office will also focus on attracting international corporate meetings.
Promoting leisure travel can be done effectively with ad campaigns and forming links with tour operators, without a storefront presence, Weir said.
Councillor Brian Ashton, who has worked on Toronto promotion for years, said the city must compete with New York for visitors from the huge northeast U.S. market.
Like Toronto, New York has suffered a visitor slump since the millennium, particularly after 9/11. Tourist visits only recovered to 2000 levels in 2005.
Bloomberg has thrown money at NYC & Company, increasing its yearly budget by $15 million to $45 million (U.S.) – almost $53 million Canadian. Tourism Toronto's budget, by comparison, is only $28 million.
"It doesn't surprise us that a city like New York would come mining for visits in this market," said Weir. "This is a market where people are used to high-end galleries and museums and theatre;. It's not surprising people from here would want to go to New York."
A bigger concern for Tourism Toronto is the fact that U.S. destinations are marketing more heavily to Americans.
"That poses more of a challenge for us, because we as a competitive destination are competing against that. ... It makes it more difficult for us to stand out as a destination."
It's been a hard slog to attract U.S. visitors in recent years, and it won't get easier when passports are required even for land crossings.
Weir said about 2.5 million Americans visited Toronto last year. That's down from 2.7 million in 2005 – which was way down from 3.2 million in 2001.
On the other hand, overseas visitors were up to about 1.8 million, from 1.6 million in 2005 and only 1 million in 2003. Still, most of the 20 million visitors to Toronto each year are Canadian.
Big Apple looks to Big Smoke for tourists
New York opening promotion offices in Toronto and Montreal this year
Mar 13, 2007 04:30 AM
John Spears
City Hall Bureau
Here comes New York.
The Big Apple's tourism agency says it's going to open tourist promotion offices in Toronto and Montreal this year to help it hit ambitious growth targets.
Tourism Toronto says it has no plans to counter with an office in New York or to match its office expansion program.
New York City has 11 international tourism offices and plans to add, besides the Canadian ones, one or more in Asia this year, with more coming in 2008.
Toronto, with a much smaller budget, has only three, targeted to well-defined audiences – in Ottawa, Chicago and Washington, D.C. – with one in London, England, to open later this year.
In typically understated New York style, the promotion agency NYC & Company says it aims to "build a global network – and in the process remake the face of New York City's travel and tourism industry."
By opening Canadian offices, New York is reinforcing success. Canada is New York City's second biggest international tourist market, after the United Kingdom. NYC & Company figures show the city had 1.17 million British visitors in 2005, compared with 815,000 from Canada and 401,000 from third-place Germany.
Including Americans, the city played host to 44 million visitors. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has set a target of attracting 50 million a year by 2015.
NYC & Company spokesperson Chris Heywood said the Toronto office will mainly promote leisure travel.
But Andrew Weir, vice-president of Tourism Toronto, said his agency finds external offices most effective in promoting conventions and business travel. Hence the choice of cities where there are heavy concentrations of business groups that plan conventions.
The London office will also focus on attracting international corporate meetings.
Promoting leisure travel can be done effectively with ad campaigns and forming links with tour operators, without a storefront presence, Weir said.
Councillor Brian Ashton, who has worked on Toronto promotion for years, said the city must compete with New York for visitors from the huge northeast U.S. market.
Like Toronto, New York has suffered a visitor slump since the millennium, particularly after 9/11. Tourist visits only recovered to 2000 levels in 2005.
Bloomberg has thrown money at NYC & Company, increasing its yearly budget by $15 million to $45 million (U.S.) – almost $53 million Canadian. Tourism Toronto's budget, by comparison, is only $28 million.
"It doesn't surprise us that a city like New York would come mining for visits in this market," said Weir. "This is a market where people are used to high-end galleries and museums and theatre;. It's not surprising people from here would want to go to New York."
A bigger concern for Tourism Toronto is the fact that U.S. destinations are marketing more heavily to Americans.
"That poses more of a challenge for us, because we as a competitive destination are competing against that. ... It makes it more difficult for us to stand out as a destination."
It's been a hard slog to attract U.S. visitors in recent years, and it won't get easier when passports are required even for land crossings.
Weir said about 2.5 million Americans visited Toronto last year. That's down from 2.7 million in 2005 – which was way down from 3.2 million in 2001.
On the other hand, overseas visitors were up to about 1.8 million, from 1.6 million in 2005 and only 1 million in 2003. Still, most of the 20 million visitors to Toronto each year are Canadian.
