New York City’s official destination marketing organization, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government, signed a first-ever official partnership to boost international tourism between New York City and Tokyo. Formalized at a press conference at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, the new alliance includes a collaboration agreement between Tokyo and New York City, the exchange of marketing assets to boost reciprocal travel, and the sharing of best practices in tourism marketing. The new agreement was signed at a ceremony attended by Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike, Head of Tokyo’s Bureau of Industrial Relations Yuji Fujita, and NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon.
“New York City was Tokyo’s first Sister City. Since the establishment of this relationship in 1960, our two metropolises have enjoyed a great deal of exchange. We hope this new tourism partnership between New York City and Tokyo will result in more international visitors coming to Tokyo from New York, and lead to even more opportunities for exchange between our two cities. As Tokyo gears up for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, our goal is to welcome 25 million visitors to our city by 2020. I am confident that our partnership with New York City, one of the world’s greatest tourism destinations, will be extremely beneficial for the international tourism of both our charming cities,” said Head of Tokyo’s Bureau of Industrial and Labor Affairs Yuji Fujita.
“New York City and Tokyo are among the greatest cities of the world. Each are recognized as thriving global capitals of innovation, design, cuisine and culture. There could not be a better time for us to align our efforts to promote each other’s dynamic and vibrant destinations and sign this first-ever tourism partnership. We look forward to learning from each other and working together in the years ahead to create mutually beneficial opportunities to increase international travel by positioning NYC and Tokyo as not-to-be missed destinations,” said NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon.
The city-to-city partnership includes a swap of marketing and advertising assets to influence seasonal travel. New York City and Tokyo will exchange media to promote the other destination in their respective city. New York City advertisements will be featured in select Tokyo subway trains and stations, and on bus stop shelters for two weeks beginning November 13. In New York City, advertisements promoting Tokyo will appear on bus stop shelters and Link NYC screens across the five boroughs of New York City beginning November 20 for 4 weeks.
To celebrate the partnership between Tokyo and NYC & Company, leading Japanese tour operator H.I.S. Co., Ltd. has launched several new five-night air and hotel packages to New York City, valid for travel from year-end 2017 until March 31, 2018, with the booking period commencing on November 11 and ending March 15. Various experience-focused packages are available for travel from Tokyo Haneda and Tokyo Narita Airports.
As part of the agreement, New York City and Tokyo will share best practices in tourism marketing and management to increase the number of visitors between both cities in the years ahead. Both destinations will also use their respective social media channels to highlight each other’s city over the partnership launch period.
To celebrate the new city-to-city partnership between New York City and Tokyo, the Empire State Building will light up New York City in blue and white – the colors of Tokyo Tokyo tourism.
Additionally, as part of NYC & Company’s efforts to promote New York City in Tokyo, the organization is partnering with Niko and…, a retailer based in market, to display officially licensed New York City merchandise in their flagship store in Harajuku. The products, part of the promotion “Silhouettes of NYC,” which includes the officially licensed NYC yellow cab and FDNY merchandise.
Japan is New York City’s 11th largest source of overseas visitation, representing 325,000 visitors last year. In 2017, that number is projected to grow to 331,000. Tokyo is the largest source market for visitation from Japan.
The number of non-Japanese travelers to Tokyo last year was 13 million, a 10.2 percent increase over the previous year. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has a goal of attracting 25 million international visitors by 2020.
