New York’s destination management campaigns have been recognised by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) as exemplary models for pro-actively managing city tourism flows and meaningfully partnering with the local community.

As part of WTTC’s inaugural North America Leaders’ Forum, New York City has been showcased in new major research launched alongside JLL.

‘Destination 2030: Global cities’ readiness for tourism growth’ addresses the question of what makes a city ready for Travel & Tourism growth. Using more than 75 indicators in 50 global destinations, 50 global gateway cities are categorised into one of five levels of “readiness”, providing actionable solutions to foster sustainable growth in tourism activity.

New York City, categorised here as a ‘Mature Performer’, was showcased alongside destinations including Auckland, Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Seville and Sydney. Managing the experience and flows of tourists in destinations requires strategies that mitigate bottlenecks, offer incentives to come at ‘off-peak’ days, weeks or months, promote online advance bookings, spread visitors to outer districts, and invest in new product developments and experiences.

NYC & Company and other travel businesses in the city of New York have introduced several measures aimed at dispersing visitors and can be looked to as a strong and positive example of action. These measures include creating the ‘True York City’ marketing campaign – the predecessor to the current ‘Famous Original New York City’ campaign – to entice visitors to stay longer and explore beyond the centre, across the city’s ‘real’ five boroughs and their small businesses and arts communities.

Then, NYC & Company’s “Tourism Ready” programme provides education to businesses throughout the five boroughs, equipping them with the necessary tools to accelerate successful engagement with the Travel & Tourism sector.

Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC praised New York City on these efforts, “This is an incredibly popular destination among travelers and continues to grow, with more than 147m visitors expected next year. “Our ‘Destination 2030’ report, produced with leading professional services firm JLL, shows how New York City is doing exactly this through their innovative and engaging campaigns. Through this essential work, NYC & Company are ensuring that enterprises of all sizes will be tourism ready and that the resident communities of the city will benefit from the visitors on their doorsteps.”

According to WTTC data, Travel & Tourism supports 297,000 jobs in New York City, or 6.7% of employment, with over $20bn annual visitor spend. WTTC represents the global private sector of Travel & Tourism.