George Fertitta
New Yorkers, Come Visit New York
Are skyrocketing gas prices nixing your vacation plans? Here's a cheap getaway: Stay home.
NYC & Company is launching a new campaign this week called "Go Local."
"We're somewhat bored with the word 'staycation,'" noted George Fertitta, CEO of the city's tourism agency.
Beginning Thursday, NYC & Company street crews will be hitting up all the major transit hubs, passing out pamphlets about all the events, activities, and attractions happening right here in the five boroughs -- things like the Governors Island Folk Music Festival, Latino Film Fest, and, yes, those makeshift waterfalls that everyone seems to be talking about.
"This isn't a consolation prize -- this is as good as it gets," said Mr. read more »
Weak Dollar = Big Tourism Bucks: Hotel Rates Now Nearly $300 A Night! Even Canadians In On the Action
"We are incredibly grateful for the weak dollar," quipped George Fertitta, head of the city's tourism office NYC & Company.
Mr. Fertitta joined Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert Lieber in crediting "beneficial exchange rates" for boosting tourism to record levels in 2007.
An estimated 46 million total travelers visited New York last year, contributing some $28 billion to the local economy, according to the city's latest projections, which officials presented at a press conference at Pier 88 on Sunday alongside the docked Queen Victoria cruise ship. read more »
Meet Your New Tourism Czar
He said he hopes he will bring the entire organization "up another notch" thanks to his "background and skill set." (He was founder of the ad agency Margeotes Fertitta Powell, which among its clients counted ... Colonial Williamsburg!)
He entered negotiations with the Bloomberg administration several months ago, he said, before the Snapple debacle.
"I don't really look at this as a Snapple problem, it is a situation of unfulfilled over-expectation. There is no correlation between any of the staff changes and the Snapple situation."
The new guy's credo:
"This is not a city dedicated to tourism, but to its citizens, and tourism is an engine to make the lives of the city's citizens better."
Where to start?
"Staten Island!," he said. "There are big plans for Staten Island."
- Jason Horowitz
