AP Features, October 15th, 2007
New York has unveiled its first multi-nation advertising campaign, inserting itself into the increasingly intense international competition to attract the world's tourists.
The "This Is New York City" campaign, meant to showcase the range of activities and experiences available in the city, will be seen on televisions in Spain, Ireland, France and the United Kingdom. Outdoor billboards in Brazil, Portugal, Italy and Spain will also carry the ads, as will newspapers and magazines in countries including South Africa and Germany.
"We want the world to know that our doors are open to everyone and there's something here for everyone to love," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at the launch in Times Square.
NYC & Company, the city's tourism office, has been expanding its international presence, hiring marketing representatives around the world and running small billboard campaigns in the United Kingdom and Ireland. But the new ads are the first to appear on television abroad and the first to send a cohesive message to multiple nations. They emphasize the breadth of choices available to visitors.
"New York City is not just Times Square," Bloomberg said. "It is five boroughs. It is every kind of cuisine and culture and religion and ethnicity that exists anyplace in the world."
Set to a contemporary remix of Ella Fitzgerald singing "Take the A Train," the TV spots merge video of a family's visit to New York with fanciful animation. Flying hot dogs pass over Coney Island's Ferris wheel; a giant pair of red heels makes its way across Fifth Avenue; the Yankees' baseball diamond suddenly transforms into a slice of pizza.
The effort is meant to help reach Bloomberg's goal of raising the number of tourists visiting New York each year from 44 million to 50 million by 2015. While tourism officials hope to draw people from all over, they are focusing particularly on overseas visitors, who stay longer and spend more money. Travelers already bring an estimated $24 billion into the city each year.
The ad campaign also comes as more foreign tourists are taking advantage of a favorable exchange rate. While the number of overseas visitors choosing the U.S. has been falling, New York City has seen a boost in such tourism.
The campaign will appear domestically on the History Channel and in cities including Boston, Philadelphia and Miami.
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