SINGAPORE, 16 September 2022: NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organisation and convention and visitors bureau for the five boroughs of New York City, names BRANDSTORY as its representative in Southeast Asia.
Led by General Manager Reene Ho-Phang, the tourism marketing agency will be responsible for travel trade, marketing and public relations efforts in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.
This news comes as New York City is expected to recover 85% of its record 2019 visit levels this year.
“As New York City’s tourism recovery continues and we look to triple international visits by year’s end, we are pleased to resume our activities in Southeast Asia hand-in-hand with BRANDSTORY,” said NYC & Company president and CEO Fred Dixon. “We look forward to working with Reene and her team, tapping into their expertise working with destinations across the United States and beyond, to reestablish NYC’s position as a leading travel destination in the SEA market.”
BRANDSTORY founder and managing director Reene Ho-Phang added: “It is a city where dreams are made, so you can imagine how thrilled and honoured we are… And being the first US destination to return to Southeast Asia, it’s time for New York City” in reference to the city’s largest tourism marketing campaign in history as it leads the way in recovery.
The top US city for international travel, New York City is expected to welcome 56.7 million visitors in 2022–recovering 85% of record 2019 levels–including 8.3 million international visitors.
NYC & Company will be supported by BRANDSTORY team members across the SEA region, drawing on the agency’s 20 years of experience, representing destination clients including Brand USA, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Brisbane, Iceland, Jerusalem, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and more.
Singapore Airlines operates daily nonstop service between Singapore and NYC –the longest flights in the world – and Philippine Airlines operates four weekly nonstop flights from Manila to NYC. In 2019, the city welcomed 229,000 visitors from Southeast Asia.
NYC destination highlights include 12,000 new hotel rooms coming online over the next three years with new properties including the recently-opened Aman New York and NYC’s second Ritz-Carlton; more than 20 new Broadway shows; recently-opened attractions including the SUMMIT One Vanderbilt and City Climb observatory experiences and the free public park, Little Island; and developments and openings across infrastructure and transportation, with upgrades at the region’s three major airports, the new Moynihan Train Hall and the recently-expanded Javits Center.
Other highlights include arts and culture openings such as the brand-new Museum of Broadway, The Louis Armstrong Center and the American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center debuting soon, with The American LGBTQ+ Museum and the Universal Hip Hop Museum also upcoming; performing arts venues including Lincoln Centre’s reimagined David Geffen Hall debuting this autumn and the iconic Apollo Theatre expansion next year.
Travellers can expect culinary highlights from new fine dining establishments to distinctive food halls across the five boroughs.
In the retail space, look out for the renovated Tiffany & Co. Flagship on Fifth Avenue and the return of Century 21; big iconic events like the US Open Tennis Championships, TCS New York City Marathon and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Last year, NYC & Company unveiled It’s Time For New York City, the city’s largest-ever global tourism marketing campaign.
NYC & Company’s new Get Local NYC effort invites visitors to explore the five boroughs like a New Yorker, with comprehensive guides to The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island.
