New York Unveils Ambitious Plans for Hosting Meetings and Events During IMEX America

Make it NYC!

That is what NYC & Company President and CEO Fred Dixon proclaimed during Wednesday’s (Oct. 17) press conference at IMEX America in Las Vegas, in which he introduced a new-look New York City for 2019.

He said it’s an exciting time for yet another Big Apple evolution, with a projected 62.8 million people visiting the city in 2019 and almost 70 million visiting the Empire City in 2020.

“New York City will never stop changing; New York City was built on change,” Dixon said. “We’re constantly reaching for new heights and growing. This is just the continued evolution of New York’s path. It is exciting, and that’s the spirit that keeps New York alive and moving forward—this constant unrest of always looking to be better and bring more to the world.”

Dixon said that while NYC & Company--the official destination marketing organization for the five boroughs of New York City--is well aware of the mass investments being made around the world to land the biggest events and trade shows, he is confident there will be no bigger and better destination than New York City.

“It is wonderful news our community is making the investments they are making,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of extra space, we don’t have open fields where we can build new facilities, so we have to really be thoughtful about the projects we take on. We have to take advantage of existing icons.”

On example he cited was the TWA Hotel, which will open in spring 2019 with 512 guest rooms and exhilarating views of John F. Kennedy International Airport’s runways and the TWA Flight Center. Its 50,000 square feet of event space can host up to 1,600 people and includes the 15,000-square-foot Starstream Ballroom, 45 event rooms and five hospitality suites.

More than $24 billion is being invested to upgrade the four airports that service New York City: JFK, LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and Stewart International. The Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is getting a $1.5 billion facelift, and a Statue of Liberty Museum is being built on Liberty Island. Hudson Yards, the largest private real estate development in the history of the United States, will include more than 18 million square feet of commercial and residential space, and the Glasshouses will be a collection of modern spaces designed to host corporate, social and nonprofit events.

“It really is an unprecedented moment, in terms of how much investment is being made, both from the public sector and the private sector,” Dixon said.