Provides that a portion of the local hotel occupancy tax in a city having a population of one million or more shall be dedicated to promoting tourism within each individual borough of such city

Summary of provisions

Section 1 provides that either 4 percent of hotel occupancy tax revenue collected in each of New York City's five boroughs or $300,000, whichever is less, will be allocated to that borough for the purpose of promoting tourism.

Section 2 establishes the effective date.

Justification

While New York's economy is still not fully recovered from the traumas of the Great Recession, there is no question we are on our way back. One critical reason why is that even as other industries struggle recover, at least one of its major source of jobs and revenue is thriving like never before: New York City Tourism. In 2012, the City welcomed a record-breaking 52.7 million visitors despite the devastation wrought by Hurricane Sandy. In 2013, we broke that record again with a staggering 54.3 million visitors. According to a report by NYC & Company, tourism supports 350,000 jobs and visitors to our city paid for more than 30 million hotel room nights and poured $39 billion directly into the city's economy. Moreover, the city's hotel occupancy stands at 87 percent, the highest in the nation. Better yet, there is good reason to believe that tourism remains a growth industry, with much of its potential still untapped, particularly outside of Manhattan. In the past seven years, 86 new hotels have been built in boroughs other than Manhattan and a record-high percentage of non-Manhattan hotels are under development for the next four years.

With historic and burgeoning neighborhoods like Arthur Avenue and Woodlawn in the Bronx, St. George and Snug Harbor in Staten Island, Ridgewood, Jackson Heights and Astoria in Queens, and Fort Greene, Prospect Heights and Bushwick in Brooklyn, not to mention dozens of other great neighborhoods across the city, it is clear that the potential of the "outer boroughs" is near limitless. That is without even considering up-and-coming neighborhoods in Manhattan like Alphabet City and Harlem.

Mayor de Blasio and NYC & Company deserve enormous credit for nurturing the tourism boom, and they are doing excellent work promoting tourism beyond Manhattan with initiatives like "Neighborhood X Neighborhood," which is "designed to support local businesses and encourage tourism in neighborhoods outside traditional tourist locations." However, it is no slight to the extraordinary job they have done to say that no one knows the Bronx like people from the

Bronx, or that no one knows Queens like the people of Queens, right on down the line. In order best highlight the hidden gems of the five boroughs it makes sense to turn at least a small portion of the promotional responsibilities to entities that know their home boroughs better than anyone else.

Experts in tourism promotion view it as an enterprise of concentric circles: with the largest being international tourism and the smallest being intraborough tourism. NYC & Company has done superlative job promoting the wonders of New York City across the globe, and the number of international visitors has more than doubled over the last decade. They have also had tremendous success in marketing our city to visitors from across the country and within the state itself. Finally, with the recent "See Your City" campaign, they have begun a concerted campaign to encourage New Yorkers to explore their own city. This legislation is intended to create a seamless synergy between these broader efforts, and carefully targeted campaigns to promote off-the-beaten-path sites and experiences between boroughs and even within a single borough. It's extremely possible to be a resident of Williamsburg who has never ventured into Sunset Park for Dim Sum or eaten a piroska while strolling Brighton Avenue. It's far too easy to live in Long Island City without making the trip out to Woodside for Panang Curry or Korean Bar-B-Que

This legislation will help foster the growth and expansion of New York City's tourism industry by turning over a small portion of each borough's hotel occupancy tax revenue (the lesser of 4% or $300,000) to interborough entities designated by local law and approved by the Economic Development Corporation for the promotion of local restaurants, sights, and attractions. By reallocating resources for this purpose, we can help foster our tourism boom in a long-term and sustainable fashion.

Legislative history

2013-2014: S4986-A

Fiscal implications

No revenue will be lost, but a maximum of $1.5 million in tax revenue will be reallocated annually for the purpose of promoting tourism in the five boroughs of New York City. This borough-specific promotion should, in turn, increase the economic impact of tourism.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which is shall have become law.