TravTalk India Online Magazine
Makiko Matsuda Healy, Senior VP, Global Tourism Development, NYC & Company, says India is the 2nd highest growth rate market for NYC.
TT BUREAU
New York received 290,000 Indian visitors in 2015. This year it has received 370,000 Indian visitors which is almost a double digit growth. Matsuda Healy says, “India is the second highest growth rate market for us among 20 key international markets.” She said, “We will be calling ourselves ‘new New York city’ as we are coming up with a lot of new products added to the classic New York City such as sunrise experience at the Empire State Building and visit to The Metropolitan Museum of Art before the regular opening hours to experience an intimate and private art experience. Also ‘new New York’ has so many hotels opening up.
Currently we have 11 southern hotel rooms. By 2019 we will be having about 135,000 hotel rooms.” According to Matsuda Healy, the city offers great value to all segments such as MICE, leisure or educational tours and travellers should relook at NYC hotels and can come and find great ways to enjoy and have a good time. She said, “We also work closely with the Indian travel trade to create more awareness about the destination. We have an online travel trade training academy and anyone can come and become NYC specialist.” She adds that India is among the top 10 MICE international markets for NYC. Pharmaceutical companies, auto industries take great interest in it and if someone picks NYC once and organises events there the motivational and participation level goes up.
According to her, incentive tour is all about providing a lifetime of memorable experience. Matsuda Healy informed that Jacob K. Javits Convention Centre has a great renovation plan. It will soon be providing one million square feet meeting space and a 60,000 squarefeet ballroom which is going to be the largest ballroom in the north east region of the US.She added, “We are excited about 2017 and are thinking of collaboration with Indian trade partners and engage withthem in a better way and take the market to the next level.”
