Skift Take
Dixon is taking an active role in convincing federal officials of tourism's economic importance -- an important step that's needed to keep New York on the top in terms of international arrivals, and improve the experience of anyone arriving in the U.S. from abroad.
Editor’s Note: Skift has started a new series of interviews with CEOs of destination marketing organizations where we discuss the future of their organizations and the evolving strategies for attracting visitors. Read all the interviews as they come out here.
This continues our series of CEO interviews that began with online travel CEOs in Future of Travel Booking (now an e-book), and continued with hotel CEOs in the Future of the Guest Experience series.
NYC & Company is the organization charged with marketing one of the most iconic cities in the world. New York City sits at the top of many travelers' bucket lists and its culture and attractions help define America across mainstream media.
New York City doesn't need help getting people to visit. They city's mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced a record 56.4 million visitors arrived in New York City in 2014, two million more visitors than 2013. The city is always looking to extend visitors' stays, encourage repeat visitation, and expand its visitor base in quickly growing source markets such as Brazil and China.
To that end, NYC & Company rolled out a number of new marketing initiatives including a campaign aimed at locals, the continuation of its neighborhoods and family-oriented campaigns, and the naming of Taylor Swift as the city's official global ambassador.
Skift recently sat down with Fred Dixon, who was appointed President and CEO of NYC & Company in March 2013, to discuss the role that data plays in forming marketing strategies, how to prepare for international visitor growth, cooperation for the sake of critical infrastructure changes, and why the Taylor Swift partnership isn't just a one-hit wonder.
An edited version of our conversation can be read below.
Skift: Britain is New York City’s most important overseas market. Is there any growth and how do you market the destination in a market where there’s already high awareness of the New York experience?
Fred Dixon: It goes up and down between two and three percent each year. We watch currency shifts closely because if the pound surges at all then we have an opportunity in the marketplace. We’ll ramp up promotions during those periods because the Brits come across in greater frequency. Even with secondary markets, you have people who come when the currency is in their favor.
We use data for all of our decision making processes and have in-depth profiles into each of these markets.
