NYC RECORDS SIGNIFICANT RISE IN MICE TRAVEL
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The number of meetings and convention delegates traveling to New York City has increased, with preliminary research showing that delegate visitation is up 5.9 million in 2013—from 5.6 million in 2012—and delegate spending estimated at $5.0 billion—up from $4.7 billion in 2012. These figures are made up of domestic visitors traveling 50 miles or more and spending at least one night in the City, plus international delegates. China, the UK, Japan, France, Germany, Colombia and Brazil are among the top international markets for delegate travel to New York City.
Delegates visited New York City to attend events at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, Piers 92 and 94, major hotels and other venues across the five boroughs.
“New York City is breaking visitation records year over year, and we are on track to receive more than 55 million visitors to the five boroughs during 2014. Meeting and convention delegates are incredibly important contributors to this ongoing success, and New York City continues to develop MICE product to accommodate these growing numbers,” said Fred Dixon, President and CEO, NYC & Company.
“We believe New York City is the best place in the world to do business and are committed to driving further increases by showcasing the City’s variety, flexibility, value and vibrancy when you Make it NYC. Face-to-face meetings are key in forming successful business relationships, and New York City offers a variety of settings throughout the five boroughs to do so,” added Jerry Cito, senior vice president for Convention Development at NYC & Company
New York City ended 2013 with more than 500 hotels and more than 96,000 rooms as the City continued to expand its room inventory. This year has already seen a number of new openings adding an additional 1,000 rooms. There are 34 new properties currently scheduled to open later in 2014, which will take the City to approximately 104,500 rooms by year-end. Hotel development is planned for all five boroughs. Growing visitor figures kept hotel occupancy at over 87 per cent during 2013—the highest in the nation.
Hotel openings in 2014 include Be Hotel NYC, The Broome NYC, CitizenM, Crowne Plaza JFK, Hilton Garden Inn Central Park South, The Paper Factory Hotel, The Parc Hotel, The William Hotel and Wyndham New Yorker.
Upcoming openings for the remainder of 2014 include The Park Hyatt New York, a new build project on 57th Street close to the recently opened The Quin andThe Viceroy hotels and the long-established Le Parker Meridien. The Knickerbocker Hotel, also projected to open this summer, will join the Leading Hotels of the World following its opening in a historic property by Times Square. Starwood will open its third Aloft branded hotel in Lower Manhattan, Aloft Financial District, while Hilton has multiple properties under development.