Cuomo unveils ad campaign, announces funding during second Tourism Summit

Celebrities like Billy Joel, Meryl Streep, and Syracuse University alumna Vanessa Williams are participating in a new advertising campaign promoting tourism in New York state.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo unveiled the ad campaign during the second New York State Tourism Summit held Wednesday.

Cuomo also used the event to announce the state’s commitment of $45 million to promote tourism, create jobs, and attract visitors, according to a news release from his office.

The $45 million in funding represents a 50 percent increase in state funding over last year, giving New York one of the “largest” state-funded tourism programs in the nation, Cuomo’s office added.

Cuomo hosted the second summit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the third-most visited family attraction in the country, his office said.

Hundreds of tourism experts gathered to discuss ideas and new ways of attracting tourists to all areas of New York.

The industry has seen an increase in spending, state and local tax revenue, visitors, and employment following Cuomo’s support of tourism in 2013, according to his office.

In addition, the summit provided an opportunity for a business-to-business marketplace meetup.

That part of the event introduced product managers, tour operators, retailers and wholesalers from all 11 vacation regions in the state to promote the tourism assets of their respective areas.

Attendees conducted an estimated $25 million worth of potential business at the summit, according to Cuomo’s office.

Additional workshop and program sessions during the summit focused on international and eco-tourism and exposed industry partners to best practices and case studies to better market New York to potential visitors.

After discussions with tourism experts and hearing the concerns and ideas of local and international tourism stakeholders, Cuomo announced a series of initiatives designed to “build on the success of the first summit and further promote New York state as the tourism capital of the world,” his office said.

They included the launch of a new NY Loves Groups initiative, which seeks to increase group and motorcoach travel, meetings, and conventions throughout New York.

The initiative will include a “coordinated statewide” presence at domestic and international sales and trade shows, along with group information available online.

New York’s tourism industry in 2013 generated direct spending of more than $59 billion, producing an estimated $7.5 billion in state and local taxes, according to the governor’s office.

The state estimates the number of visitors to New York state increased by 8.8 million and projects the overall figure, when fully tabulated, would finish at nearly 219 million visitors in 2013.

As the fourth-largest employment sector in New York, the tourism industry grew by 28,500 jobs in 2013 to reach total employment of 832,500. The industry produced nearly $18 billion in wages. One of every 12 jobs in New York is tourism-related, Cuomo’s office said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com