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NYC Will Try To Lure Budget Tourists To Staten Island, Jackson Heights
By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 25, 2013
Modified Feb 25, 2013
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Feb 25, 2013
Modified Feb 25, 2013
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Times Square may be the "happiest spot" in New York City, but tourists can only spend so much time near the Great White Way without getting their fill of Guy Fieri. So now the city, fresh off a record-breaking year for tourism, is coming up with ways to try and entice tourists off the beaten path (and if they get more frugal travelers while they're at it, all the better)
To keep parting tourists with their hard-earned money, the mayor and NYC & Company have a number of ideas. Like advertising specific neighborhoods to international markets. Starting next month, NYC & Co. is going to start "a new neighborhood communications initiative highlighting travel to lesser known areas throughout the City’s five boroughs—from Jackson Heights to Washington Heights to Snug Harbor— will be a key priority," they announced last week.
“It will give us a chance to comprehensively focus global attention on a neighborhood that is not as well known as Midtown or the Statue of Liberty or some of our other landmarks,” NYC & Co. chief communications officer Kimberly Spell recently told DNAinfo. The chosen areas—which also include Arthur Avenue in the Bronx and Forest Hills, Queens—have been picked because of their interesting attractions as well as their proximity to mass transit.
The city is also hoping that advertising "cheaper" neighborhoods will attract those tourists who currently see New York as too expensive for them. After all, New York is too expensive for most New Yorkers and why should we shoulder the burden alone? To go along with that idea, Mayor Bloomberg said in his State of the City speech this month that he'd like to see the creation of for-profit youth hostels in town. Considering how many billions tourism brings into the Big Apple, we understand wanting to not leave a single couch cushion unturned!
Still, we're skeptical that Staten Island is going to be seeing much of a tourism uptick from this. As much as we love Status Island, we don't see tourists actually getting off the Ferry for longer than it takes to get back on it just yet. Maybe when that Ferris Wheel goes up though?
Tagged
bronx
hostels
mayor bloomberg
Neighborhoods
nyc and co
queens
staten island
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Garth Johnston
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