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| Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau | |
|---|---|
| Name | Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau |
| Type | Destination marketing organization |
| Founded | 1970s |
| Headquarters | Hauppauge, New York |
| Region served | Nassau County, Suffolk County |
Long Island Convention & Visitors Bureau is a destination marketing organization representing tourism interests on Long Island, New York, including Nassau County and Suffolk County. The bureau promotes travel to municipalities such as Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Huntington, and Islip, and markets regional attractions from the North Shore to Montauk. It collaborates with institutions, municipalities, transportation agencies, and cultural organizations to attract conventions, leisure travelers, and group tours.
The bureau traces its roots to regional tourism initiatives of the 1970s that paralleled efforts by organizations such as the New York State Department of Economic Development and the I Love New York campaign. Early partnerships included municipal chambers like the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce and visitor bureaus associated with locales such as Patchogue, Port Jefferson, and Huntington, New York. During the 1980s and 1990s the organization worked alongside the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and regional airport authorities to position Long Island as an accessible alternative to Manhattan and JFK International Airport markets. In the 2000s the bureau adapted to digital marketing trends alongside entities such as Google and TripAdvisor, and later coordinated recovery efforts following events affecting regional tourism, including responses intersecting with policies from the New York State Department of Health and infrastructure projects by Amtrak and the Long Island Rail Road.
The bureau operates as a not-for-profit destination marketing organization structured with an executive leadership team and a board of directors composed of executives from hospitality and travel sectors, including representatives from hotel companies like Hilton Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels Corporation, convention centers such as the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and regional economic development authorities. Governance adheres to nonprofit statutes in the State of New York and often aligns with county tourism offices for Nassau County and Suffolk County funding and oversight. Staffing includes departments for sales, marketing, group services, and research; those teams engage with industry associations such as the American Hotel and Lodging Association and regional chapters of the U.S. Travel Association.
Core services include convention sales targeting associations and corporations, leisure marketing aimed at visitors to sites like Montauk Point State Park, Planting Fields Arboretum, and the H. Lee Dennison Building, and programmatic assistance for meeting planners working with venues such as the Hilton Long Island and local fairgrounds. The bureau offers research and data on hotel occupancy measured against reporting by organizations like STR and provides grant assistance, visitor guides, and media kits distributed to outlets including The New York Times, Newsday, and travel trade publications. It administers familiarization tours for travel writers and tour operators associated with companies such as Collette and AAA.
Marketing initiatives feature integrated campaigns across digital platforms including collaborations with search engines and social media firms like Facebook and Instagram, and content partnerships with broadcasters such as WPIX and WABC-TV. The bureau promotes signature events hosted in towns like Riverhead and Bellmore, and cultural institutions including the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, the Nassau County Museum of Art, and the Old Westbury Gardens. Promotional activity also targets sports and outdoor audiences via associations such as USA Triathlon and sailing organizations at marinas in Sag Harbor and Port Washington. The bureau leverages trade shows such as the U.S. Travel Association IPW and regional travel expos to attract group business and convention bookings.
The bureau commissions and cites tourism-economic studies connecting visitor spending to sectors tracked by agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Metrics reported include hotel room-night generation, average daily rate comparisons with New York City, and visitor counts to attractions including vineyards on the North Fork (Long Island) and beaches in the Hamptons. Reports often analyze the multiplier effects on employment in hospitality chains such as Marriott International and retail corridors in downtowns like Huntington Station, using benchmarking from industry data providers including STR and Tourism Economics.
Partnerships span municipal governments such as Town of Islip and Town of Babylon, cultural organizations like the Bay Street Theater, educational institutions including Stony Brook University, and transportation partners including the Long Island Rail Road and Republic Airport. Collaborative programming involves local chambers of commerce, small-business development centers, winery associations on the North Fork, and historic preservation groups connected to sites like the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site. The bureau engages community stakeholders for workforce development initiatives with entities such as county tourism task forces and hospitality training programs at community colleges like Suffolk County Community College.
Critiques of the bureau have included debates over allocation of public funding between county tourism offices and destination marketing organizations, disputes reflected in county budget deliberations in Suffolk County and Nassau County legislatures. Some local advocates and preservationists have challenged promotional strategies perceived as favoring development over conservation in sensitive areas such as the Peconic Bay estuaries and parts of the South Fork (Long Island). Others have raised concerns about measurement methodologies when comparing economic impact estimates with independent analyses by firms like Tourism Economics and academic researchers at institutions such as Stony Brook University and Columbia University.
Category:Tourism in New York (state)