NYC To Break One Million Mark

There are very few destinations you can visit over and over, and over again and have a completely different experience each time, and New York City is one of them.

The city is my favourite - full disclosure, many of you know I used to work for NYC & Company in their Canadian office - but I was in love with the city long before that. Having visited more than 30 times, it always amazed me that each time the city was able to provide something so unique and different than the last.

That message was driven home today when TravelPulse Canada attended NYC & Company's trade event Wednesday afternoon at the newly opened Hotel X in downtown Toronto. The NYC team is on their three city mission, having spent the last two days in Montreal and Quebec City, two other big feeder markets for the city.

"Unique, one of a kind experiences are what Canadians are looking for," says Reginald Charlot, Managing Director Tourism Development, NYC & Company. "You might go to NYC ten times and each time is different, one visit might be iconic New York, the next might be a girls' trip. There's always something new happening to experience."

Chris Heywood, Senior Vice President, Global Communications, NYC & Company adds "It's an exciting time for New York City, we're on track to break a million visitors from Canada for the first time since 2014. It shows the resilience of the Canadian market - it's been growing, it's been rising and there's so much appeal. It's great to have the engagement of the trade market to help us achieve this goal."

New York City has the most active hotel development pipeline in the country, with approximately 117,300 rooms across all five boroughs and hotel rooms and the city is on track to reach 140,000 rooms by the end of 2021.

Major investments are being made to infrastructure: the redesign of LGA broke ground in 2016 and is expected to open in phases between now and 2021. JFK is also undergoing an extensive transformation, as is Newark Liberty where renovations include a 1 million square foot terminal.

And then of course, there is Hudson Yards. Neighboring the High Line and Javits Centre, Hudson Yards in the largest private real estate development in the history of the USA and will include more than 18 million square feet of commercial and residential space, more than 100 shops, restaurants, residences and public open space.

But Reginald takes the focus back to the agents and operators. "It's a nice balance to meet with the trade in person, to determine what they need, what they're looking for and how we can help them. We can give them different options to offer their clients and if they haven't offered product before, help them start."

Heywood adds, "It's a monumental year for New York City, and an indispensable place to visit in 2019."

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