Analyzing Strategic Management of Destinations & Hotels: NYC Focus

This report provides an analysis of the strategic management of New York City as an international destination, focusing on the role of Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) like the New York Tourism and Convention Board. It examines the city's tourism area life cycle, product life cycle, and Doxey’s Irritation Index to understand tourist approaches and the evolution of tourism services. The report highlights the importance of strategic planning, international campaigns, and governance in enhancing New York's brand image and attracting tourists. It also addresses challenges such as social problems and environmental concerns, offering recommendations for sustainable growth and improved tourism management. The analysis includes expenditure breakdowns, organizational structures, and marketing strategies employed by NYC & Company to promote the city's diverse attractions and cultural heritage.

Running head: STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF DESTINATIONS AND HOTELS
Strategic management of New York City as an international destination
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Executive summary
Strategic management is an important element in the business activities. Strategies act
as a central doctrine for the companies and organizations in terms of systematizing the
activities according to their priorities. This is applicable also for the tourism industry in terms
of developing the standards and quality of the services and facilities. Beautification of the
destinations is one of the important tasks of the destination management organization. This is
because of achieving large scale customer satisfaction. Here, New York City is just an
example for the businesspersons in terms of executing the marketing activities strategically.
Consideration of the challenges is an innovation in terms of gaining loyalty, trust and
dependence from the customers. Rationality in this direction would enhance the brand image.

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Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
About New York........................................................................................................3
Insight into the culture, heritage and history of New York........................................3
Discussion......................................................................................................................4
Tourism Area Life Cycle............................................................................................4
Exploration.............................................................................................................4
Involvement............................................................................................................4
Development..........................................................................................................5
Consolidation.........................................................................................................5
Product life cycle........................................................................................................5
Doxey’s Irritation Index.............................................................................................7
Role of Destination Management Organizations (DMO)..........................................7
New York Tourism and Convention Board...............................................................8
Roles of New York DMO..........................................................................................9
International campaigns...........................................................................................10
Governance and leadership......................................................................................10
Planning strategies...................................................................................................12
Challenges................................................................................................................14
Recommendation......................................................................................................15

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Conclusion....................................................................................................................15
References....................................................................................................................17
Appendix......................................................................................................................20

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Introduction
About New York
New York is one of the densely populated cities of United States. According to the
Urban Landmass, New York is considered as the largest metropolitan areas. There are 5
boroughs namely Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island. New York consists of
83 museums, 5233 5 star hotels. The audience would be surprised to know that New York has
11 beaches, 3 Airport, 34 shopping malls and 487 hospitals. According to the census report of
2017, the number of residents has been recorded as 19.85 million (Business.nycgo.com
2018). NYC is a governmental website, which makes the tourists aware of the plans and
programs towards upgrading the standards and quality of the tourism facilities.
Insight into the culture, heritage and history of New York
The size and ethnicity reflects the culture of New York. Italian Americans and the
Jews were the proprietors of New York culture. Music, dance, visual art, theatres are some of
the cultural symbols of New York. Majority of the population is Jewish, which accounts for
13% of the whole population. Department of Cultural Affairs is in charge of preserving the
cultural diversity through the means of theatre performances for the foreign tourists
(Nyheritage.org 2018). Typical evidence of this lies in the festivals like Village Halloween
parade, Feast of San Gennaro. Macy’s Thanksgiving day among others. Herein lays the
appropriateness of the relationship between NYC and the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Literature enlivens the historic events, which shape New York. Typical example of this are
the novels, comic books. Apart from this, museums also preserve the cultural heritage of New
York. Mention can be made of Metropolitan Museum of Art, which enhances the awareness
of the tourists about medieval art. Jewish Museum is the epitome of ceremonial art objects

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used by the people of the ancient times. American Museum of Natural History and Hayden
Planetorium preserves the scientific inventions in the past times (Nyheritage.org 2018).
Discussion
Tourism Area Life Cycle
Figure: Tourism area life cycle of New York
Exploration
According to the data of 1991, there were 29.1 million visitors in the New York City.
It is at this time, that the city witnessed drastic increase in the number of tourists. This was
the time, when the tourists entered the threshold of New York to beautify the city for the
future generations to enjoy the scenic beauty (Business.nycgo.com 2018).
Involvement
The tourism department conducts planning towards involvement of the tourists
through the provision of sightseeing. Typical examples of such tourist spots include Statue of
Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building and Rockfeller Center. As a matter of

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specification, the natives welcomed the foreign tourists. Herein lays the euphoria stage, as
proposed by Dorex in his Irritation Model.
Development
Innovative schemes in the tourism department of New York mount the number of
tourists drastically. Inclusion of family planning in the schemes has assisted the tourists to
settle here and enhance their living standards. These initiatives were taken by the NYC in
terms of achieving economic development through the promotion of tourism
(Business.nycgo.com 2018).
Consolidation
Development of domestic and international tourists have made New York a tourist
hub. Typical evidence lies in the number of visitors, which has increased drastically. In 2010,
the number of international tourists in New York was 9.8, which increased to 12.7 in 2016.
The spending power of industry personnel has also undergone transformations. This is due to
the better employment opportunities and revision of the tax tariffs.
Product life cycle
Product life cycle is the graphical representation of the journey from the
manufacturing period to the decline of the product or service. This is applicable for all of the
products and services including the tourism industry (Vanhove 2017). There are four stages
in a product life cycle- introduction, growth, maturity and decline. In the introduction stage,
the tourists discover the language, customs and traditions of the destination, which they want
to visit. Launching special discounts, schemes and offers on the travels results in the growth
and development of the industry. Foreign direct investments enhance the stability in the
relationship between the clients and the industry personnel. Indulging in partnership with the
associate tourist organizations matures the plans regarding making the city a tourist hub. Lack

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of involvement of the employees and clients in the decision-making process, results in the
decline of the tourism services and facilities (Business.nycgo.com 2018).
Figure: Product life cycle of New York
The above figure represents the product life cycle of the New York as an international
destination. Currently, the product life cycle of New York is at a maturation stage. The major
drive behind this is the estimations regarding improvements in the global economic scenario.
Current geopolitical concerns relates with the decline in the number of foreign tourists.
Collapse of the Europe and Canadian market has aggravated the complexities. Moreover, the
the number of visitors in Mexico and South America have drastically reduced
(Business.nycgo.com 2018). Strong and flexible policies like Transport Policy reflects the
matured stage of the tourism services and facilities of the new York. Adopting eco-friendly
transport has resulted in the achievement sustainable growth and development.

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Effective planning towards achieving infrastructural development has enabled the
personnel to provide quality services to the clients and the customers. This is with the
consideration of the peak periods when the number of tourists is more.
Doxey’s Irritation Index
The approach of the tourists of New York forms the background of the assignment. In
order to gain a deeper insight into the tourist approaches, Doxey’s Irritation Index has been
followed. As a matter of specification, the model has four stages, which can be aligned with
the stages of tourism area. The first stage is Euphoria, where the locals welcome the tourists
visiting the city of New York. The stage of Apathy reflects the consideration of tourists as the
assets for growth and development. Irritation stage exposes the hatred of the natives towards
the tourists visiting the New York City (Business.nycgo.com 2018). Antagonist stage consists
of the conspiracy in terms of compelling the tourists to flee from the city. In the recent times,
the misutilization of the local areas by the tourists has compelled the government to receive
complaints from the natives.
Role of Destination Management Organizations (DMO)
The aim of Destination Management Organizations (DMO) is to improve the
standards and quality of the tourist destinations. This is in terms of providing a better
experience to the tourists, when they visit the foreign lands for spending their vacations. For
this, marketing activities play a major role. Conducting market research helps the personnel
to seek innovative ways and means to attract large number of tourists. Within this,
involvement of the stakeholders and shareholders is one of the major tasks (Stmedproject.eu
2018). Coordination with the stakeholders results in the introduction of lucrative schemes,
offers and discounts, which helps in enhancing the scope and arena of the business.

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New York Tourism and Convention Board
NYC and Company is considered as the official destination marketing organization
covering the five boroughs. The mission is to increase the travel opportunities for enhancing
the image of New York as a dynamic tourist spot. The company caters to the interests of 2000
member organizations regarding the expansion of the scope and arena of the business. There
are 37 employees in the executive committee. 46 employees hold the responsibilities of the
Board of Directors. 22 of the employees are ex-officios (Stmedproject.eu 2018).
Presence of skilled and efficient leaders from diverse backgrounds enhances the
cultural diversity of the tourism industry. Prior experience of the leaders helps the members
to execute the marketing activities in an efficient and effective manner. In the last 7 years, the
performance of domestic and international tourists has drastically increased. According to the
report of 2016, the spending power for the visitors was $43 billion. This is 1.6% higher than
the data of 2015. The international visitors for NYC are recorded as 48%, which accounts for
21% of the spending power for all the visitors (Stmedproject.eu 2018). The following is the
direct spending break up for the expenditure behind the Direct Visitors of NYC:
Food and beverage 21%
Lodging 28%
Arts, Entertainment and recreation 12%
Shopping 20%
Local Transportation 18%
Miscellaneous 1%
Table: Expenditure of direct visitors of NYC

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Food and beverage
Lodging
Arts, Entertainment and
recreation
Shopping
Local Transportation
Miscellaneous
Graph: Expenditure break up for the direct visitors of NYC
(Source: Created by the author)
Roles of New York DMO
Planning is an important activity of the New York Tourism and Convention Board.
The aim of this planning is to make the destination such that tourists can get home like
feeling when they reach the destination. The tourists need to be made aware of the
significance of the place. Rationality in this direction generates an urge among the tourists to
visit the destination at least once. Indulgence with the associate agencies is accounted as one
of the other responsibilities of the New York DMO. The result of this partnership has brought
drastic transformation in the number of tourists (Stmedproject.eu 2018).
Guiding the tourists and the clients is one of the major roles of the DMO in New
York. Providing access to the clients regarding the official guide reflects the ethical approach
of the DMO. The option of “message” in the webpage solves the queries of the clients
regarding the travel information. “Edits” relates with the suggestions for improving the
standards and quality of the tourism services and facilities.

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International campaigns
Campaigns are one of the effective means for enhancing the awareness of the people.
This can be applicable for all of the parameters including tourism. This includes the latest
offers, schemes and discounts on the bookings. NYC takes the initiative to conduct the
campaigns for enhancing the brand image (Sassen 2016). Uploading attractive images of the
museums, galleries, restaurant offers, events and others in the website, helps NYC personnel
to enhance the trafficking of the audience towards the brand. Providing access to the visitors
regarding the plans helps in gaining an insight into their approaches towards the plans. The
option of “following” is an initiative towards adding to the stock of customers and
maintaining a stable relation with them. This is in terms of introducing innovative schemes,
offers and discounts on the travel and tourism facilities (Gunn 2014).
Governance and leadership
The government initiatives and the influence on the tourism management
companies have left a great deal of impact on the tourism industry. In fact, the role of
government in this context is full of complexities though important which involves policies
and political philosophies. In this regards, the state intervention in trade is considered to be a
recent practice for the central government (Sassen 2013). Subsequently, the expansion of the
state government in order to maintain and control the tourism industry is quite new in the
genre. It can be stated that the activities are driven by the ambition of each local authorities to
harness the development opportunity of areas throughout the region. It can be argued that the
central authority and the local correspondence are considered to be the responsible
organization to develop the region (AlSayyad 2013). Therefore, development in the tourism
industry also helps the region to get flourish.