Tourism Advisory Council Meeting Monday, September 25th, 2017 11:00am – 12:30pm 633 Third Ave, 37th Floor Boardroom, New York, NY
Webcast address: https://livestream.com/vvt2/TAC092517
AGENDA
I. Approval of Minutes Cristyne Nicholas
II. Chairman’s Report Cristyne Nicholas a. Formal welcome of Ross Levi as ED of Tourism b. New York State Summer of ’17 Governor tourism announcements c. Tourism infrastructure updates i. Delta Terminal groundbreaking at LGA ii. Start of construction at Moynihan Train Hall and Farley Building d. TAC member update
III. Executive Director Report Ross Levi a. Summer commercials b. State Fair recap c. Pride recap and Stonewall 50 / WorldPride announcement
IV. Guest Speaker: LEGOLAND New York Phil Royle
V. PR and Path Through History Weekends Lisa Soto a. Fall Media Night recap b. Path Through History Weekend recap and preview
VI. New Business
Next meeting: Monday, November 13th, 2017, 11am – 12:30pm, 633 Third Ave, NYC
Agenda Addendum Videos and Links
Formal welcome of Ross Levi as ED of Tourism https://esd.ny.gov/esd-media-center/press-releases/esd-announces-ross-d-levi-appointed- executive-director-tourism
New York State Summer of ’17 Governor Tourism announcements https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-more-2-million-expand-hiking- trails-across-state https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-invites-visitors-new-york-campgrounds- summer https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-expanded-path-through-history- weekends-2017 https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-invites-visitors-new-york-beaches-and- lakes-during-memorial-day-weekend https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-encourages-travelers-visit-taste-ny- locations-summer
Tourism infrastructure updates https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfaEjkYRgPw&feature=youtu.be https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6OYmCNbObA&feature=youtu.be
Guest Speaker: LEGOLAND New York https://endpoint910861.azureedge.net/globalassets/new-york/docs/uvid-49bb43/updated-info- packets.pdf
Tourism Advisory Council Meeting Minutes “Draft – Subject to Board Approval”
Date: Monday, May 15, 2017 Location: 633 Third Ave, New York, NY Attendance: TAC Members Cristyne Nicholas, Thomas Mulroy, Ali Sirota Phone: Elinor Tatum, Spike Herzig, Alana Petrocelli, Dan Fuller
ESD / NYS Staff Ross Levi, VP Marketing Initiatives; Markly Wilson, International Marketing Director; Tom Regan, Associate Council; Sara Emmert, Special Projects Manager; Lisa Soto, Director of Tourism Marketing, Licensing, & PR; Kelly Garofalo, Project Manager Tourism Marketing & Partnerships; Lizete Monteiro, Vice President Experiential Marketing; Anna Pakman, Director Digital Strategy Marketing; Madeline Belloff, Assistant Press Secretary and Digital Production Specialist
TAC Guests George Lence, Nicholas & Lence Communications; Ashley Graf, JetBlue; Mary Kay Vrba, Dutchess County Tourism; Greg Marshall, Visit Rochester; Peter Feinman, New York History Blog; Cambria Tallman, Emerson Resort Spa; Kayleen Scali, Emerson Resort Spa; Tamara Murray, Emerson Resort Spa; Patricia Ornst, Delta Airlines; Jennifer Walden Weprin, Queens Borough; Rick Remsnyder, Ulster County CVB Phone: Melanie Klausner, Finn Partners; Linda Ayres, Finn Partners; Josiah Brown, New York’s Best Experiences; Tom Martinelli, New York by Rail; Jill Simpson-Luciano, Southwest Airlines; David Holder, Syracuse CVB; Mark Dorr, NYSHTA; Jill Delaney, NYSTIA
Meeting called to order: 11:02am
I. Approval of minutes – Cristyne Nicholas Motion to approve by Tom Mulroy Minutes approved with a second by Ali Sirota
II. Chairman’s Report – Cristyne Nicholas A. Meeting Overview Welcome everyone. The last time we saw each other was in Albany following Tourism Action Day. Hopefully many of you were able to meet with our state representatives to discuss the importance of tourism in New York State. At that meeting, we welcomed special guest Brian Stratton from the New York Canal Corporation, who updated us on their plans for the bicentennial of the Erie Canal. I think having guest speakers has been very worthwhile, and we will continue doing that for future meetings. Today, however, we are forgoing a guest speaker. This is the last meeting before we break for summer, and there is a huge amount of I LOVE NEW YORK activity that has been going on to prepare for the summer travel season. So today, we will be hearing from the I LOVE NEW YORK team on what they have done and will be doing to prepare for the summer travel season. Gavin is unable to join us today, so Ross will kick things off with a review of the Equal Rights campaign, which officially launched earlier this month with the release of the first Equal Rights commercial. Afterwards, Lizete will give us a snapshot of what the Events Team has in store for the summer months. Lisa Soto will then report on the upcoming Path Through History Weekends, as well as last month’s successful Summer Media Night. Next, Markly has some exciting news to share about I LOVE NEW YORK’S international efforts, including work with Norwegian Airlines around their announcement to service transatlantic flights from Stewart to Shannon starting July 1. Finally, we will wrap up with Anna, who will update us on digital efforts including: a long-haul travel campaign, an influencer campaign and the planning around walking tours for the I LOVE NY mobile app.
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B. State Budget Tourism Overview Before we get started, I wanted to take a moment to review some of the tourism highlights from the recently passed State Budget. You will remember that tourism was well represented in Governor’s Cuomo’s Executive Budget when it was announced earlier this year. The good news is that tourism also fared well in the final budget which the legislature passed and he [the governor] signed into law in early April. The budget allocates $70 million for I Love New York to promote statewide tourism. This is $15 million more than the original $55 million commitment that the governor announced at the Tourism Summit last fall. The extra funds will go towards building the remaining Welcome Centers across the state. There were a number of other important tourism-related initiatives in the budget outside the $70 million for I LOVE NY efforts. These include: o $200 million to create the Empire Trail, the nation’s largest multi-use trail network that will complete and connect the Hudson River Valley Greenway and Erie Canalway for 750 miles of hiking and biking. o $500 million for the Buffalo Billion Phase II, with a focus on: . Implementing revitalization and smart growth efforts; . Improving workforce development and job training; . Growing advanced manufacturing, tourism and life sciences; and . Connecting communities and economic progress through rail expansion. o $70 million in capital funding for continued modernization of the State Fair . $50 million to build new multi-use Exposition Center & Aerial Gondola for visitors traveling from the fairgrounds to Lakeview Amphitheater . $20 million for new on-ramp to 1-690 West and Orange Lot improvements o $32 million public-private partnership to create a world-class “Gateway to the Adirondacks” tourism destination at the site of Frontier Town at Northway Exit 29 in North Hudson. o $28 million in new capital funding to transform Olympic Regional Development Authority facilities, including enhancements of the current facilities at Gore and Whiteface Mountains, and upgrades at Belleayre Mountain Ski Center, to create state-of-the art skiing, lodging, dining and retail opportunities and year-round activities. o $120 million to continue advancing the NY Parks 2020 initiative to upgrade and repair our State Parks with critical infrastructure projects. o The Adventure NY program, which will improve access to state lands, rehabilitate campgrounds, and upgrade DEC recreational facilities. o Amendments to state law for the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, where matching funds will be increased to help communities invigorate economic growth engines like tourism. o $564 million for the JFK Airport Transformation, to reconfigure the Van Wyck and save motorists a combined travel time of 7.4 million hours annually going to and from JFK airport. o Under the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization Competition, $38.1 million to jumpstart Plattsburgh International Airport’s $43 million overhaul and $35.8 million towards Syracuse Hancock International Airport’s $48.8 million transformation to enhance safety, improve operations and access, reduce environmental impact, and create a better passenger experience. o $700 million for the Moynihan Train Hall at the New Penn-Farley Complex, to advance Governor Cuomo's sweeping plans to transform the historic James A. Farley Post Office into a world-class transportation hub. Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s continued support, the tourism industry is the strongest it has been in years. As you may have seen, the Governor announced last week the new tourism numbers showing New York State's tourism industry set new records for total number of visitors, economic impact and direct spending in 2016. Since the governor took office in 2011, the state has invested more than $180 million dollars in the tourism industry statewide, which has returned a $10 billion increase in direct visitor spending over that same time. As a result of this unprecedented level of support, New York State tourism has welcomed a record 239 million visitors and reached a historic $104.8 billion in economic impact – exceeding $100 billion for the third straight year. Tourism remains the state’s fourth largest private sector employer, supporting more than 914,000 jobs.
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Again, we thank Governor Cuomo and our partners in the legislature for their continued support of the tourism industry in New York State. That is all for me – are there any questions?
III. Equal Rights Campaign—Ross Levi March is a very busy time of year for us as we prepare for the summer season. We’re very pleased to have the opportunity today to review some of our efforts. Specifically, I will be speaking about a campaign that launched a few weeks ago focusing on New York’s Equal Rights destinations. As many of you know, this is the 100th anniversary of women receiving the right to vote in New York State—three years before the rest of the nation. New York was the birthplace of the Women’s Rights Movement, and it was very significant when New York made that move as a trailblazer. So in considering this anniversary, we thought about how we might maximize it as a tourism opportunity for New York State. We have an amazing story to tell, not just in speaking about the history of women’s rights, but around the legacy of equal rights in general, including abolition & African American rights and LGTB rights. We are the birthplace of the LGTB movement at Stonewall as well. As such, we decided to talk about human rights in general for the campaign. This Equal Rights campaign will complement our regularly scheduled campaign, which broadly highlights vacationing in New York State, and has a number of components including: o TV Commercial: This will be the most visible part of the campaign. You may have seen one of the new Equal Rights commercials as it is currently on air. There will be another equal rights commercial later in the summer that will highlight equal rights beyond women’s rights as I mentioned earlier. Video presentation of commercial is shown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2z19XN2Rbs o Equal Rights Guide: As you saw at the end of the commercial, we are guiding people to our website to download our new Equal Rights Guide. Many of you have a hard copy in front of you. This is not made to be a hard copy, but rather to be downloaded on our website at iloveny.com/equalrights/. This webpage contains not just the guide, but highlights the many events that are happening around New York State—particularly about women’s suffrage. http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/cewald/esd_nys_equalrightsdestinationstravel2017/index.php o Social Media: Our social media team is gearing up to continue the campaign through summer with some cool ideas that are sharable on social media platforms. For example, we plan on creating frames with quotes by famous New Yorkers who advocated for equal rights that you can take a selfie with and share online. The frames will travel with the pod to various LGBT events as well as be on location at equal rights destinations throughout the summer. The goal with this campaign is to get people thinking about and learning about New York State’s great history in this area and how you can experience it now with your family. Our research has told us that parents in particular want to take their kids on a memory making experience; they want their kids enriched as part of an experience. So that is a quick glance at our Equal Rights campaign, and we are excited to be taking advantage of an important and unique opportunity here in New York State.
III. Experiential Marketing Events—Lizete Monteiro and Lisa Soto A. Pod and Summer Activations –Lizete Monteiro Most of you are familiar with what the Events Team does in the summer, but I want to give a quick snapshot regardless. We have a mobile visitors’ center that travels throughout the state—called the pod—that goes to various large-scale events. During the events, we try to intercept people as they are having fun and engage them in a way so that the fun continues while they learn about everything New York State has to offer. We have a brand-new pod this year that has been reconfigured and redesigned to make it a little bit more attractive as you enter. As you can see from the rendering on the screen, the kiosks at the front face out [toward the visitors] and we’ve added balloons to the top that you can see from a distance. Regarding which events the pod attends, it generally travels to events throughout the state, first and foremost, based on audience size; we want to ensure that we have large audiences and get as many people as possible into the pod during a weekend. Secondly, the pod attends events that are geared towards our target market and family-friendly. This year, we are attending events that were particularly
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successful for us last year, including those across state lines that we found did very well and garnered a lot of interest in traveling to New York State. In fact, we plan on increasing the number of out-of-state events this year based on the warm receptions we experienced last year. We may even attend some events in Canada, which is big news. We will also be activating in New York City in August at Summer Streets; typically we go dark in August because it tends to be a quiet month, but we were offered the opportunity to attend Summer Streets, so we took advantage of that. Finally, we have several activations inside the pod which are meant to be fun and friendly. o We have a “travel buddy quiz”, which is a lighthearted quiz asking consumers about their preferences. Based on their answers, we provide them with a travel personality and offer them suggestions for New York State destinations. What’s fun about this is that we try and include nearby attractions in addition to those you might be interested in based on your travel profile. So for example, if you are a “taste tester” and we serve up the Culinary Institute of America as an attraction, we would also tell you that Stone Barn, the Beekman, and the Walkway Over the Hudson are all nearby. You can then save this to your own customizable portal or email it to yourself. http://www.ilovenyevents.com/travel-profile-quiz/ o We have a tribute challenge for both adults and kids which tests how well people know New York State, and all the questions point you in the direction of attractions throughout the state. o We have an interactive map and itinerary builder for consumers to select where they would like to go based on their interests and email these attractions to themselves or save them in their own personalized portal. o There is a selfie wall in the pod where we invite people to be the “I” in I LOVE NEW YORK o An example of a low-tech activation is the big chalkboard that just says “My favorite place is…” or “I love…in New York State”; people will spend all day listing what they like—particularly younger kids. o A new activation for this year is called New York State 360, a virtual reality way of showing people 360 views of various locations in New York State so that they feel like they are there o We have revived a digital events calendar that visitors can scroll through as opposed to the static one we have had in past years. Again, visitors can save and email themselves any event they may be interested in attending. o Finally, we’ve improved our mobile app so it is more user friendly and can be updated remotely. B. Path Through History Weekends-Lisa Soto Before I speak about the Path Through History Weekends, I wanted to provide a little bit of background on Path Through History for those who may not be familiar with the program. The program was launched by the governor in 2012 to promote heritage tours and travel throughout the state, and as of this morning, we have 666 historical attractions registered as Path Through History attractions. Visitors are able to build their own itinerary using the map feature on our website based on these 666 registered attractions. The Path Through History Weekend is a dedicated weekend to celebrate all of these historically significant attractions throughout the state. Each location hosts its own event to learn about and promote its role in the great history of New York State. Generally, it is one weekend over Father’s Day, but due to last year’s positive feedback, we have expanded to two weekends this year—Father’s Day and Columbus Day. Some examples of the events that occur over these two weekends are: o Stockade Scavenger Hunt to learn about the 300-year history of Schenectady o Finger Lakes Celtic Fair to celebrate the rich Scottish and Irish cultures in the area o Long Island Maritime Museum Pirate Festival o Tour of the Hessian Hut at the Dyckman Farmhouse Museum in New York City Rick Remsnyder: I recently learned that there is a second women’s suffrage adventure at the Shaker Family, which is now the Shaker Museum. Additionally, there was a gathering at Mohonk Mountain House, which was the first non-governmental organized event that talked about how to integrate Native Americans into American life. Mary Kay Vrba: At Eleanor Roosevelt’s house, there is a 94-year-old volunteered named Doris Mack that still gives tours and sat at the table with Eleanor as a child. This might be something to integrate into the Path Through History program. Ross Levi: That sounds great for social media. Perhaps Anna’s team can get a camera up there and film her while she tells her story.
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IV. PR—Lisa Soto Some of you may know we had our Summer Media Night this past March, which was a wonderful event. Our objective was to have the media experience summer in New York State, which is not always the easiest thing to do in the middle of the winter. So, we decided to host the event at the Macy’s Flower Show, and provide a VIP tour of the flower show, which is about as summer as you can get. We had a dedicated Path Through History area with interactive elements to promote the many important historical anniversaries in New York this year, many of which Ross previously mentioned. One such interactive element was the model lock of the Erie Canal that was in the Path Through History section [of the event] to inform the press on the 200th anniversary of the Canal. We also had a woman’s suffrage reenactor to promote women’s suffrage. All the Upstate and Long Island TPAs were represented at the event, along with Syracuse and Rochester. Additionally, Metro North, Long Island Railroad, New York by Rail, and the Greater Hudson Heritage Network were in attendance. 50 media attended the event, and by all accounts, the event was a huge success; we got a lot of positive feedback from both the media and the TPAs. We are currently planning Fall Media Night, which will take place in July.
V. International—Markly Wilson A. Brand USA Partnership As you know, Brand USA is to the United States what I LOVE NEW YORK is to New York State, and I want to share some promotional campaigns we are doing in partnership with them. We are able to reach a large international audience through Brand USA and target our message based on both country and theme. An example of this is the 60-page public channel program we did targeting Canadian travelers. As a result of this campaign, we had 12,313 nights booked in the state. We did a similar campaign in the German market that generated 48,812 room nights in the state. It’s very difficult for the Chinese to access websites with severs in the US, but Brand USA has been able to create a webpage with servers in China called Call USA. We are working with Brand USA to develop some pages on Call USA that will feature all of New York State’s regions. We have also produced a nine-page brochure promoting all 11 vacation regions in partnership with Brand USA. Regarding our future work with Brand USA, we are working with them to develop four videos that will highlight the food & drink, culture, history, and Americana. They will also highlight cycling, water activities, and hiking. These four videos will be targeted at the Chinese, Australian, German, and Canadian markets. B. IPW & Chinese FAM Review The winners of a New York State itinerary design competition that we conducted in China have just completed a FAM trip. The competition was amongst all operators in China, and they created what they thought would be the ideal trip to New York State—which formed the basis for the FAM trip. Apart from the winners, we also invited two other operators who we felt offered great potential to deliver new Chinese visitors to upstate New York. The winning itinerary (and consequently FAM trip for the operators) began in New York City, went up to the Hudson Valley and Capital-Saratoga regions, then on to the Adirondacks, back down through Central New York, and finished in the Greater Niagara region. The FAM just completed over the weekend, but there has already been a booking from this new tour. In addition to this last FAM trip, we also have some 17 Chinese tour operators from secondary Chinese cities currently touring the state. This FAM starts at Woodbury Commons and from there goes to the Hudson Valley, Adirondacks, Central New York, Buffalo, Niagara, and Corning Museum of Glass. What is unique about this FAM tour is that the attendees are not typical tour operators that promote motor coach travel, but they are operators that specialize in FIT (free independent traveler) travelers who drive in private vehicles. As such, the FAM operators are also driving across the state in private vehicles to experience it by car. Finally, we are doing a FAM tour of tour operators who have signed up to attend IPW in Washington, DC. This is a pre-IPW FAM tour that will begin in Long Island and then head to the Hudson Valley. For all of these FAM tours, I must thank the hosts as well as our airline partners—Delta and JetBlue— who contributed to the transportation and accommodations of these operators. Speaking of transportation partners, we will be sure to inform the press at the media market place
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about all the upgrades that are being done to improve our airports and train stations. C. Norwegian Airlines Event On the 15th of next month, Norwegian Air is going to fly for the first time into Stewart Airport from Edinburgh. Following this, there will be inaugural flights into Stewart from Shannon, Dublin, Belfast, and Bergen. Within the next year, if these flights continue, there will be over 125,000 new seats for Scotland and Ireland direct to Upstate New York, thus exposing the Hudson Valley and the rest of upstate to tourism opportunities. It is very exciting, and we need to do all that we can to take advantage of this new route. So, on May 22nd, we are hosting a workshop at Stewart Airport for TPAs and tourism stakeholders on how to benefit from the Norwegian Air service. We have invited Norwegian Airlines US Marketing Director, Douglas Smith, as well as Martin Short, the I LOVE NEW YORK representative in the UK. The idea is to have them share what they see as opportunities and what they have planned for the service with New York receptive operators and TPAs. This will be more of an internal meeting to discern among ourselves what the opportunities are and what we need to do to bring those opportunities to fruition. Once initial decisions are made, we hope to extend the invitation to press and additional suppliers.
VI. Digital—Anna Pakman A. JetBlue/Delta Long-Haul Campaign As you might know, a majority of our marketing budget is allocated towards in-state audiences as well as our five-hour driving market. This spring, we decided to test marketing to a long-haul audience with the help of our two airline partners—JetBlue and Delta. We decided to test two different markets based on where our airline partners fly. LA with JetBlue Atlanta with Delta Each campaign ran for 6 weeks and featured a compelling offer to New York State, which was advertised on a unique landing page hosted by the airline for their particular market. These offers were supported by a digital video that ran on various platform websites like Facebook, YouTube, and Expedia and directed viewers to the airline landing pages. Long-haul digital video is show. B. Influencers I am very excited to announce that we recently won a Shorty Award, which is like the Oscars for social media. They are given out to various influencers and brands for their marketing programs. We won an award for our partnership with Beautiful Destinations—the number one travel influencer account on Instagram—to highlight the Catskills last fall. Because of our success with this partnership, we are exploring partnering with Beautiful Destinations again for a summer campaign. They shoot incredible photo and video content, which not only provides us with great content, but would help to put New York State in the running among the world’s leading destinations, which is very important to us. This summer, we are also partnering with a group called Niche. Niche is an influencer agent and talent agency for those with 100,000 or more followers. We worked with them to develop the “Check Out the Catskills” campaign and saw great results, so we will be working with them to produce some family influencer travel campaigns. Between Beautiful Destinations and Niche, we will have influencers covering the entire state aside from New York City. In terms of diversity, we’ve really put a focus on making sure that we’re integrating into all of the various initiatives including LGBT and long haul. C. ILNY App Currently, we have 115,000 downloads of our app, which is available for free on both iTunes and the Google store. As you might know, the app has earned a number of accolades since it launched in 2015. We won two Dica Awards, an Effie Award, and a Webby Award. We have also received a gold honors at the Shorty Awards in the travel apps category. Despite these awards, we are not going to rest on our laurels, but rather work on a brand new feature that will launch sometime this summer. This feature will allow users to go on self-guided audio walking tours to discover various cities and towns across New York State. The tours will include the history of a particular place, suggestions of top things to do, and various fun facts.
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Tom Mulroy: How can we improve on increasing our overall number of app downloads? 115,000 seems a bit low. Anna Pakman: 115,000 is actually quite high for our category, which is state destination apps. When we were able to track our competitors, which unfortunately we cannot anymore, we were in first position among various state destination apps. We also have to consider that the app was designed to be used only while in the market; so many people download and then delete the app once they leave New York State. Among those that do download, however, we see an extremely high engagement rate, which is what we want. Cristyne Nicholas: Perhaps for next meeting we can take a more comprehensive look at how our overall app downloads and website visits are performing and discuss opportunities for expanding that.
VII. New Business Tom Mulroy: I know we have partnerships with Delta and JetBlue, but are we also able to partner with hotel companies? I know we have done some work with Hotel Concierge in New York City in the past. Do we have any direct hotel partnership? Cristyne Nicholas: I know we have George Ntim from Marriott on the phone and he would like to get much more involved with I LOVE NEW YORK. George, do you want to chime in? George Ntim: I don’t know if I mentioned previously, but I now do community relations for all the Marriott and established hotels in the city, so I can easily put together some sort of Concierge program and make a presentation to TAC. Cristyne Nicholas: That would be great George. We do focus on promoting upstate New York and rely on NYC and Company to promote the city, but we do have a strong relationship with NYC and Company, so this is maybe something we can do together with them. Tom Mulroy: Is there a way to track the top drivers of tourism to New York State among online travel agencies like TripAdvisor or Orbitz? Anna Pakman: We are looking into some sources of information to better track this. Ross Levi: We work with tourism economics to get our general travel numbers and economic impact, but I’m sure there is a place that centralizes this type of information.
Meeting adjourned: 2:01pm
Next meeting: Monday, September 25th, 2017 11am - 12:30pm 633 Third Avenue, NYC
TAC minutes 5/15/17 7 Tourism Advisory Council Meeting
September 25, 2017
A Division of Empire State Development
1 ROSS D. LEVI NAMED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TOURISM
“I look forward to building even stronger relationships with the Tourism Advisory Council, our state government colleagues and our talented industry partners, to further realize Governor Cuomo’s vision of tourism serving as a pillar of economic development in New York State.”
- Ross D. Levi, August 10, 2017
2 NEW YORK STATE SUMMER OF ’17
3 DELTA TERMINAL GROUNDBREAKING AT LAGUARDIA
"Together with our private sector partners, we are making rapid progress to create the world-class gateway to the Empire State that New Yorkers deserve.” – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfaEjkYRgPw &feature=youtu.be
4 GROUNDBREAKING AT MOYNIHAN TRAIN HALL
"For decades, passengers were promised a world-class train hall worthy of New York - today, we are delivering on that promise and turning that dream into a reality.“ -- Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
5 SUMMER COMMERCIALS
. Adirondacks & Thousand Islands . General Attractions . Finger Lakes Agritourism . Equal Rights: Echoes
6 ADIRONDACKS & THOUSAND ISLANDS
7 GENERAL ATTRACTIONS
8 FINGER LAKES AGRITOURISM
9 EQUAL RIGHTS ECHOES
10 STATE FAIR PROMOTION
. I LOVE NEW YORK advertised in secondary markets to complement State Fair efforts
NYC, Albany, Buffalo, Utica, Elmira, Scranton, Plattsburgh, Syracuse, Rochester, Ithaca, Binghamton . TV, Print and Radio . Additional efforts including PR and Social Media
11 STATE FAIR COMMERCIAL
12 STATE FAIR ACTIVATION
. Center for Progress “Selfie” Activations
Mount Van Hoevenberg
Lake George
Green Lake
Watkins Glen . I LOVE NEW YORK Pavilion . Pod and Brand Ambassadors . Family Fun Fishing Day
13 I LOVE NY LGBT . Activated at 8 pride events during Pride Month . Stonewall 50 / World Pride to be hosted in New York State in 2019. Will be the largest international LGBT pride celebration and include:
Stonewall 50 Commemoration Committee
I LOVE NY LGBT domestic/int’l pride activations
I LOVE NY LGBT Welcome Center in NYC . Pride Day at the New York State Fair the only fair in US to recognize and celebrate LGBTQ Community
14
INFLUENCER CAMPAIGNS
. Partnered with Niche to send 8 diverse families on trips throughout the State to highlight unique family-friendly activities . Influencers are brand ambassadors for region providing useful information and travel tips for their social media followers . Positive sentiment with fan comments showing interest in booking a trip to NYS
15 FALL MEDIA NIGHT: OKTOBERFEST IN JULY . July 12, 2017 at the Flatiron Hall Beer Cellar . Objective to provide travel media with a full scope of NY’s fall activities and products . Activities included pumpkin carving, apple coring, apple pie contest, haunted history display, & headless horseman reenactor . Attractions & partners included Haunted History Trail, Fly Creek Cider Mill, NY Apple Association, and the Greater Hudson Heritage Network . 51 media attended including Conde Nast Traveler, Fodor’s, NY Times, Daily News, & National Geographic Traveler 16 PATH THROUGH HISTORY WEEKENDS
. June 17-18 Father’s Day Weekend
Press conference at Corning Museum of Glass
More than 380 events
. October 7-9 Columbus Day Weekend
246 events scheduled so far
28% increase over 2016
Events include haunted history tours and women’s suffrage events
17 IT’S ALL HERE, ITS ONLY HERE.
18 LEGOLAND New York What does this guy do?... Phil Royle
Head of Community & Project Relations
16 years with Merlin Entertainments Group
London – UK Hollywood, CA – USA Dallas Fort Worth, TX – USA Winter Haven, FL – USA Goshen, NY - USA
Government Affairs Public Relations Operations Corporate Events Guest Experience Call Centre Operations New Opening Developments
Making Memorable Experiences Merlin Entertainments Plc
• PLC Company as of November 13, 2013 (MERL FTSE)
• 2nd largest visitor attraction group in the world
• 62.8 million visitors
• 128 sites, 15 hotels, 6 holiday villages in 23 different countries on 4 continents
• Iconic brands
• 27,000 employees (peak season)
Merlin Entertainments Plc
LEGOLAND New York LEGOLAND® Parks
1968 1996 1999
2002 2011 2012
2016 2017 LEGOLAND® is a world of fun and adventure where the emphasis is placed on rides and attractions suitable for families with young children.
LEGOLAND is split into a number of themed areas which consist of 50+ rides, shows and attractions.
Ever dreamt of spending the night at LEGOLAND®?
It’s packed with imaginative LEGO features and themed play areas throughout. The hotel is just steps away from LEGOLAND Park, where family fun awaits. LEGOLAND Hotel
250 Rooms
5 Fully immersive themes, Pirates, Adventure, Kingdoms, Ninjago, LEGO Friends
250 seat Bricks Family Restaurant
100 seat Skyline Lounge
Walk the plank!
Fully immersive bedrooms filled with LEGO Kids own TV and play area LEGO Movie playing 24hrs a day!
LEGO Filled Pool
Resort style pool filled with floating LEGO Brick! Splash pad for toddlers
Solar Power…
LLFR is no stranger to solar panels, for Earth Day 2014 LEGOLAND Florida Resort operated the entire day on renewable energy and received an incredible amount of PR exposure
Adding Solar Panels to the LEGO City Vehicles will only further enhance our reputation as a business that takes action to create sustainable energy powered attractions Solar Powered Rides… We start from scratch
LEGOLAND® is proud of the quality of our Food & Beverage menu offering. Our staff source as much of our goods locally as possible.
LEGOLAND offers an extensive menu selection of fresh, wholesome foods catering to every palate. All of our meals are prepared with the freshest ingredients. We do not use commissary, factory-made or previously prepared goods in our kitchens. We also offer many gluten-free options, and restaurants are trans-fat free.
Healthy meal options are part of the variety of choices for kids as well. We make everything on site!
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LEGOLAND New York - Community Welcome Center
10am – 6pm Monday to Saturday Complimentary wifi and cell phone charging, LEGO Play Tables, Videos showing plans and designs, complimentary beverages and snacks Meet with our Community Relations Team to ask any questions that you may have Site Details • 523 Total Acres
Photo taken from the North.
This middle of this photo shows essentially where the parking, entrance to the park and hotel will be situated. The theme park will start in the lower part of this photo.
Photo taken from North West.
Showing Administration area on left of photo in the mown grass that connects to Route 17 and where our bridge will land. Mown grass on right hand side of photo is where our theme park will be.
LEGOLAND® New York
• Possible opening in 2019 • 250 room LEGOLAND® themed hotel on opening day • Opening year attendance in line with other LEGOLAND Parks, between 1.5 million and 2.5 million visitors • 1/3 tourists, 1/3 day trip, 1/3 local residents • Strong school program Economic Benefit Highlights
• LEGOLAND New York would hire 500 full time employees, and of those: – 470 positions have salaries starting at $30,000 or higher – 260 positions will have salaries starting at $50,000 going up to $200,000 per year.
• LEGOLAND New York’s initial investment prior to opening day will cost $350 million and by year five the investment is expected to reach $500 million. A PILOT agreement is an essential incentive for Merlin Entertainments to make this investment. Economic Benefit Highlights
• The proposed LEGOLAND New York site currently generates a total of $91,000 in annual real property taxes. • LEGOLAND New York would make guaranteed PILOT payments of $1.4 million annually beginning the first year the park opens. – Goshen Central School District: $1 million – Town of Goshen: $210,000 (plus more) – Orange County: $168,000 – Over the duration of the PILOT agreement, payments would increase by 1.5% per year. – Over the course of 20 years LEGOLAND New York will pay $87 million in PILOT payments alone. Economic Benefit Highlights
• Including annual increases, the total taxes and fees (PILOT payments, host community fees, hotel taxes and sales taxes) will generate approximately $458 million over 30 years, including: – $87 million in PILOT payments – $71 million in host community fee payments (based on 2 million visitors per year) • LEGOLAND New York would pay a host community fee for every visitor to the Town of Goshen. For each visitor up to 2 million visits, LEGOLAND New York would pay the Town of Goshen $0.65, and $0.20 for each ticket thereafter – with no cap on payments. – $300 million in sales & Hotel tax
Economic Benefit Highlights
• If needed, LEGOLAND New York would pay for the use of police services required for operations.
• LEGOLAND New York’s employees will generate substantial additional economic benefits throughout the region.
• LEGOLAND New York will hire local construction labor.
Get Ready Hudson Valley, NY…
1.5m – 2.5m a year 1,300 jobs
14m a year 4m a year 3,000 jobs 2,400 jobs 200k a year 50 jobs 6.7m a year additional visitors from 2019…
LEGOLAND® NEW YORK PROJECT UPDATE
6 North Church Street, Goshen, New York 10924
LEGOLAND® NEW YORK COMMUNITY WELCOME CENTER
6 North Church Street Goshen, New York 10924
LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and Knob configurations and LEGOLAND are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2017 The LEGO Group. LEGOLAND and SEA LIFE are a part of Merlin Entertainments plc. LEGOLAND.com
Dear Goshen resident and business owner:
The LEGOLAND® New York project team has been diligently working to complete a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), which has now been submitted to the Goshen Planning Board. We are confident the FEIS completely addresses the questions and issues raised by the planning board, town officials and the Goshen community in a fully responsive and transparent way. The FEIS also includes new and enhanced benefits, which further reinforce our commitment to being an exceptional neighbor to Goshen and the greater Orange County community. This document is now available for review online on the town's website and at the Goshen Town Hall. In this mailing, we are pleased to provide the highlights of the FEIS document for your information. We would love for you to come and visit our Community Welcome Center at 6 North Church Street, Goshen, New York 10924 to learn more. Our hours are 10am to 6pm – Monday through Saturday. Please stop by! Respectfully, Phil Royle Head of Community & Project Relations, LEGOLAND New York FISCAL BENEFITS FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS An economic boon through a 20-year PILOT • LEGOLAND® New York is requesting a reduced 20-year Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement for the proposed LEGOLAND New York theme Park. This 20-year PILOT was suggested by the Orange County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and evaluated as part of the IDA’s independent Economic Impact Review Report prepared by KPMG. The initial 30-year PILOT proposal would have generated significant economic benefits to the Town of Goshen, the Goshen Central School District and Orange County. Merlin Entertainments, however, modified it to a 20-year agreement in response to public feedback and the updated proposal will provide even greater economic benefits to the community over 30 years, totaling $87 million in PILOT payments and property tax revenue as opposed to $61 million in PILOT payments. Also, annual payments will increase more quickly at 5% annually (instead of the previous 1.5%) to reach the full assessed value of the property within 20 years. Expanded host benefits for Goshen • LEGOLAND New York, at the request of representatives of the Town of Goshen Town Board, has increased the proposed host community benefits for Goshen residents. The host community fee proposal was accepted by the Town of Goshen on May 15, 2017. These benefits includes: ✔✔ Every year, LEGOLAND New York will host two Community Days for the Town of Goshen and donate 50% of the Park’s ticket sale revenue to the Town of Goshen, creating a unique opportunity for fundraising by the Town. LEGOLAND California’s community days have raised $899,259 in cash donations to community organizations since 1999. ✔✔ All Goshen residents will be offered a 50% discount on standard one-day tickets to LEGOLAND New York for their own use. Terms and conditions apply. ✔✔ LEGOLAND New York will pay the Town of Goshen $500,000 of the host community fee at the beginning of each calendar year, with the balance depending on actual attendance paid at the end of the calendar year. • LEGOLAND New York will pay the Town of Goshen a host community fee for every Park visitor. For each visitor up to 2 million, LEGOLAND New York would pay the Town of Goshen 65 cents, and 20 cents for each visitor thereafter – with no cap on payments. This will provide the Town of Goshen with at least $1.3 million annually, based on 2 million visitors, and substantially more depending on the Park’s success. For reference, Merlin Entertainments has already agreed to include a minimum payment based on 800,000 visitors, and to increase the annual rate by 1.5% per year. These payments will continue for 30 years, which means that the town would receive full tax revenue and the host community fee simultaneously between years 21 and 30.
• LEGOLAND New York is a welcome source of revenue for Goshen and Orange County. Over 30 years: ✔✔ The Town of Goshen would receive about $71 million in revenue from the host community fee, and its share of PILOT payments and tax payments. ✔✔ Orange County would receive about $283 million from its share of sales tax and hotel occupancy tax. Permanent and seasonal jobs
• LEGOLAND New York will employ 500 year-round full-time employees, 300 part-time employees and 500 seasonal employees.
• Construction of the theme Park will also create 800 jobs for local construction labor. Buying and sourcing local
• LEGOLAND New York is committed to using local vendors for supplies and services. Food would be sourced locally whenever possible and then prepared on site for Park guests. Investing millions of dollars in the area . VE A • LEGOLAND New York will make an initial H IC W investment prior to opening day of $350 million N E E R and by the fifth year of operation the investment G is expected to reach $500 million. GOOD TIME PARK
SOUTH ST. TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENTS EXISTING EXIT 125 Reconfiguring Exit 125 reduces traffic EXIT 124 on local roads
• The Exit 125 relocation and Exit 131 improvements will significantly decrease the UPGRADED HARRIMAN DRIVE 17 traffic impact of visitors traveling to and from LEGOLAND New York and is expected to reduce RELOCATED Route 17’s legacy traffic congestion issues. EXIT 125 GLEN • In response to comments from the public, ARDEN elected officials and the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), Merlin LEGOLAND PARK ACCESS Entertainments is committing to relocate and LEGOLAND reconfigure Exit 125 on Route BACK-OF-HOUSE 17. This includes building ACCESS a bridge over Route 17 as part of its Park proposal. LEGOLAND Exit 125’s relocation SITE will address concerns regarding traffic impacts on local roads by removing vehicles destined for LEGOLAND from South Street and Harriman Drive in Goshen. It will also help solve the existing exit’s geometric interchange shortfalls compared to current Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and NYSDOT design guidelines. The Exit 125 reconfiguration will be designed to meet current FHWA and NYSDOT standards, which will assist with Route 17’s future conversion to Interstate 86.
• Merlin Entertainments has committed to finance the traffic improvements related to Exit 125’s relocation and other traffic improvements for LEGOLAND New York. Merlin Entertainments has requested that New York State participate in the financing of the cost of the Exit 125 improvements, which resolve one of the pre- existing impediments that hinder the conversion of Route 17 to Interstate 86 in this region. • LEGOLAND site generated traffic peaks are typically after the morning commuter peak and outside of the afternoon commuter peak traffic hours.
• To ensure traffic doesn’t back up onto public roads, the site has been designed with a main access road which is 3,000 feet long. This will allow for vehicles to stack on the LEGOLAND site, if necessary. Plus, our innovative system of having guests pay for parking at the time of their departure also ensures there will not be any back up onto public roads. Exit 131 improvements will further ease conditions
• In 2019, New York State will complete the $150 million reconstruction of the Woodbury Transit and Economic Hub at Exit 131. This project, which includes cashless tolling and an intelligent transportation system that adapts to changing traffic conditions, will significantly reduce congestion on Route 17 and in the mid-Hudson region.
SENSITIVITY TO SURROUNDING NEIGHBORS • LEGOLAND New York would be minimally visible from nearby roads. LEGOLAND New York is designed to utilize the existing topography to minimize viewshed impacts. The results of the viewshed analysis show that higher areas of the site, such as the parking area and hotel will be visible from higher points along Arcadia Road and Route 17, but distance and proposed shade trees will soften these views. Reducing the amount and height of retaining walls
• The revised plans reduce the amount and height of retaining walls on the LEGOLAND New York site. Retaining walls are located throughout the site rather than being concentrated in specific areas. Walls along the exterior range from 5.5 feet to 23 feet high and generally average 12 feet in height. Walls within the interior of the Park range from 4 feet to 17.5 feet high with most averaging 6 feet high. By comparison, the DEIS plan showed a maximum retaining wall height of 56 feet and the majority of walls in the Park ranged from 30 to 40 feet. Buffered areas provide natural distance, keeping the Park secluded from view
• LEGOLAND New York’s revised design maintains buffers to nearby residences. The nearest residential structure to the Park’s closest point (the loop road at the outer edge of the guest parking lot) will be about 1,000 feet away. The distance from the back-of-house facilities to the nearest residence will be approximately 1,200 feet (four football fields) away.
• The overall amount of grading and earthwork on the site has been reduced, and all necessary fill will come from within the site. There will be no need to truck in soil from outside the site.
• There will be no disturbances within the town’s Scenic Overlay District (which runs along Conklingtown Road). It is approximately 3,300 feet from Conklingtown Road to the transmission lines that mark the nearest point of development.
• There would be no road connection to the existing Arcadia Hills subdivision. Emergency access would be provided via a direct connection to Arcadia Road. By comparison, if the site was developed with residences instead of LEGOLAND New York, any new subdivision would likely connect and use existing Arcadia Hills roads. Remaining sensitive to noise and light
• Increases in noise are expected to be 3 dBA or less at the majority of receptors. Consistent with NYSDEC guidelines, increases in noise of under 3 dBA should have no appreciable effect on receptors.
• Lighting levels after the Park closes will be reduced to minimum security levels. The Park closes at 8 p.m. in the peak summer season. Lighting levels at property boundaries, with the exception of the access road, will be zero. Prepared for any emergency
• LEGOLAND New York will have a 24-hour security team at the Park and a team of certified Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) on site which will serve as first-responders to any incident, and a First Aid facility will be located within the Park. ECOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY Understanding groundwater/wastewater issues
• The use of municipal water eliminates potential impacts to groundwater at the site and to all adjacent users of groundwater. To reduce the overall use of water on the site, construction will include water saving fixtures consistent with NYS building codes. Native plants will be used in the landscaping plan to reduce the need for irrigation.
• The use of public wastewater collection and conveyance systems is more protective of onsite surface and ground water resources than onsite treatment.
• LEGOLAND New York will not impact local aquifers. Based on Orange County data, there are no aquifers beneath the site.
• Stormwater runoff from the developed areas of the site will be treated to ensure water quality consistency with NYSDEC and town requirements. The stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) will comply with the NYSDEC State Pollution Discharge Elimination System General Permit for Stormwater Discharges. The implementation of the SWPPP will provide water quality treatment, control stormwater flows and reduce or minimize impacts related to stormwater to the greatest extent practical on the local watershed.
• Water on the site drains toward Route 17, away from the Goshen reservoirs. The closest portion of LEGOLAND New York to Goshen Reservoir #2, located south of the site, is approximately 1,700 feet which will remain undisturbed. • LEGOLAND New York will avoid disturbances to the Otterkill and onsite wetlands and wetland buffers. New conservation easement creates permanent wooded areas
• LEGOLAND New York will permanently preserve 150 acres of the 522 acre site (28.7% of the entire site) by a conservation easement, including wooded areas and buffers around the perimeters of the site. Preserving more trees while planting thousands of new ones
• LEGOLAND New York has revised its plans to preserve additional trees in the vicinity of the Park.
• LEGOLAND will implement a landscaping plan that includes planting over 5,000 trees, which does not include shrubs and other plantings. Approximately 40 different species of trees will be planted, including wetland species that will be planted in areas of the site for the creation of new wetlands. This is in keeping with Merlin Entertainments' plan to create “a Park within a Park.”
A PLAN THAT PROVIDES WATER BENEFITS An agreement with the Village of Goshen
• The Village of Goshen previously stated its willingness to serve LEGOLAND New York with water and sewer service. The village has the capability to provide 1.3 million gallons of water per day to users, but currently only uses an average of 621,000 gallons per day. The village is currently using less than half of its water resources. LEGOLAND New York will use an average of 176,000 gallons per day, with peak day usage of approximately 255,000 gallons per day. These numbers are well within the village’s existing reserves.
• To provide additional water for future uses, the village has also tested new wells at its wellfield. Initial results of that testing show the village will be able to increase its capacity from 1.3 million gallons per day to 1.7 million gallons per day.
• LEGOLAND New York would pay its full share of all water and sewer usage charges beginning in its first year. It would pay the Village of Goshen the standard out-of-district user charges of $6 per 1,000 gallons for water (together with a $19,000 per year unit charge) and $9.20 per 1,000 gallons of sewer (together with a $272,000 per year unit charge). Based on water and sewer usage at LEGOLAND Windsor, which is a similarly sized, seasonal Park, anticipated annual revenue to be paid to the Village of Goshen would be $406,000 for water use and $576,520 for sewer use. These payments will provide the village with a significant source of revenue. Providing water to Arcadia Hills residents
• LEGOLAND New York will dedicate two wells to the Town of Goshen to connect to and supplement the water supply for Arcadia Hills, and also pay up to $60,000 toward the cost of connecting those wells, for the benefit of Arcadia Hills residents.
CHARITABLE GIVING Caring for our neighbors
• LEGOLAND New York, through its children's charity Merlin's Magic Wand, will engage in the local community. Merlin’s Magic Wand provides seriously ill, disadvantaged or disabled children and their families with a fun filled day out to any Merlin attraction of their choosing.
• Every year LEGOLAND New York will host a Community Day by donating tickets to the Park to community organizations in Orange County, creating a unique and unparalleled opportunity for fundraising by those organizations. Since LEGOLAND California opened, from 1999-2016, Community Day has provided $899,259 in cash donations to community organizations.
• LEGOLAND supports local community institutions in a variety of ways. In 2015, LEGOLAND Florida remodeled the therapy rooms at The Howard Phillips Center for Children & Families. Also in 2015, LEGOLAND California remodeled the waiting room at the Rady Children’s Hospital with interactive displays and more than 20 LEGO® models, including a geyser periscope built from 17,000 LEGO bricks. LEGOLAND New York would provide similar support to Orange County institutions. • LEGOLAND New York is committed to volunteering within our local community and as already seen, our team will participate in volunteer efforts each month giving back to the community.
EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS An ongoing commitment to education in so many ways
• LEGOLAND New York will offer year-round educational opportunities to schoolchildren throughout the region, with programs focused on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) education.
• LEGOLAND New York will partner with local schools and colleges to train and employ students interested in careers in hospitality, business and mechanical engineering, among other fields.
• LEGOLAND New York will offer special programs and discounted tickets to area schools, including all school districts within Orange County. The cost for student field trips start at $15 per student.
• LEGOLAND New York will also donate free tickets to area schools. Free field trips and in kind donations at LEGOLAND California have generated $1 million in benefits to local schools. • LEGOLAND New York will offer free annual passes to all educators in Orange County to learn about the educational opportunities for their students. There are about 5,000 full-time educators teaching in Orange County schools.
NO NEGATIVE IMPACT EXPECTED ON PROPERTY VALUES Orange County provides independent analysis
• The Orange County’s Real Property Tax Service Agency conducted an independent analysis of the potential impact of LEGOLAND New York on property values, and specifically concluded that there would be no negative impact on home values even within one mile of the LEGOLAND New York site. This corresponds with a similar analysis of property values in Polk County, Florida, where LEGOLAND Florida is located, which shows that median home prices have risen 38% since LEGOLAND Florida opened in 2011 in the immediate surrounding area of the Park.
PLANNING CONSIDERATIONS • The Town of Goshen Comprehensive Plan recommends that the town develop a strong and balanced economic base to attract tax positive commercial population. LEGOLAND New York helps the town achieve that goal.
• The Orange County Comprehensive Plan identifies the LEGOLAND New York site as within a Priority Growth Area along Route 17M from Goshen to Middletown. The county plan recommends development within these areas to expand job growth and expand the tax base.
• The Orange County Economic Development Strategy targets tourism as one of the main industries essential to economic development in Orange County. This plan recommends expanding tourism with both overnight accommodations to provide revenue to the County and developments that emphasize Orange County as a ‘destination’ within the Northeast. LEGOLAND New York accomplishes both of these goals.