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Q&A
Effects of budget reductions and request for additional funding
2:10:12
·
3 min
Council Member Amanda Farías and Julie Coker discuss the specific impacts of budget reductions on NYC Tourism & Conventions and the organization's request for additional funding.
- Coker explains that budget cuts led to the closure of three international offices.
- NYC Tourism & Conventions is requesting an additional $7 million for fiscal year 2026.
- The additional funding would support international events promotion, meetings and convention market competitiveness, and community vibrancy programs across the five boroughs.
- Coker emphasizes the comprehensive nature of their funding request and the return on investment for travel and tourism dollars.
Andrew Kimball
2:10:12
that they could have, as well as increased competition from
Julie Coker
2:10:16
other domestic cities, we could lose our competitive advantage on both the domestic side as well as the international side.
2:10:24
And that will lead to lead to potential jobs, obviously, that we create.
2:10:29
We have 388,000 jobs in the city that are tourism related so those could be impacted and certainly the the tax dollars that we generate to
Amanda Farías
2:10:38
the city.
2:10:39
And to the peg that we took last year, I'll include myself in the general, we as the chair, those three offices were closed because of the PEG?
Julie Coker
2:10:49
They were part of the they were part of the reductions that we had to make because of a decreased budget.
Amanda Farías
2:10:55
Okay and so are part of our new needs for your organization going to be to go back up to the twenty one point four or are we asking for additional to ensure that we have expansive?
Julie Coker
2:11:08
We are asking for an additional.
2:11:10
So we're asking for an additional our new needs ask is 7,000,000 for fiscal year '20 '20 '6 to go beyond the '20 the contracted amount of '21 and that's for a number of reasons as we all know And I heard when we walked in, you were talking about FIFA.
2:11:24
So we've got international events.
2:11:25
And again, similar to what e d EDC was saying is that the game may be played in New Jersey, but we certainly want visitors here.
2:11:33
But we also wanna be able to bring journalists as well to experience and feel the city so that they can then promote out.
2:11:40
And the other that we want to do is make sure that we are competitive when we're talking about the meetings and convention market.
2:11:45
And then lastly, all of the work that we do around the five boroughs and getting folks into the city and then into the five boroughs and supporting those community vibrancy programs that we do, all of that will be covered if we're able to have that 7,000,000 ask.
2:12:00
And then
Amanda Farías
2:12:00
just my last question for you in terms of the conversations you're having with the administration on your new needs ask of 7,000,000, have they began?
2:12:09
Have we received any feedback?
2:12:11
What's what are my efforts going to look like towards June?
Julie Coker
2:12:15
We have submitted our new needs ask and we have received some questions back.
2:12:20
What I would say of some of the questions that we are facing are it isn't an a la carte menu if you will.
2:12:29
So if we do this or that it really is a comprehensive.
2:12:32
So in order to keep the staff that we have and also do the work that we need to do from a marketing and sales perspective that entire 7,000,000 is needed especially as we're going into 2025, the balance of this year, and of course fiscal year twenty twenty six where we are gonna be on a world stage with having FIFA here.
2:12:53
So all of the the efforts that we have, I believe that they understand and we are certainly not tone up and know that there is a lot of ask on the budget but really because we are revenue generating and there's a return on investment for the dollars that are invested into travel and tourism, we do think that the ask is reasonable.