NYC & Company appoints BRANDSTORY as its representative in Southeast Asia (SEA). Led by General Manager Reene Ho-Phang, the g tourism marketing agency will be responsible for travel trade, marketing and public relations efforts in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand.

This news comes as New York City is expected to recover 85% of its record 2019 visitation levels this year. As New York City’s tourism recovery continues and we look to triple international visitation by year’s end, we are pleased to resume our activities in Southeast Asia hand-in-hand with BRANDSTORY,” said Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company. “We look forward to working with Reene and her team, tapping into their expertise working with destinations across the United States and beyond, to reestablish NYC’s position as a leading travel destination in the SEA market.”

It is a city where dreams are made, so you can imagine how thrilled and honored we are,” said Reene Ho-Phang, founder and managing director of BRANDSTORY. “More than just being an aspirational urban destination, New York City offers diversity, inclusiveness, sustainable travel, and practically everything today’s traveler wants. And being the first U.S. destination to return to Southeast Asia, it’s definitely time for New York City!” she added, making reference to the City’s largest tourism marketing campaign in history as it leads the way in recovery.

The top U.S. city for international travel, New York City is expected to welcome 56.7 million visitors in 2022–recovering 85% of record 2019 levels–including 8.3 million international visitors. NYC & Company will be supported by BRANDSTORY team members across the SEA region, drawing on the agency’s 20 years of experience, having represented destination clients including Brand USA, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Brisbane, Iceland, Jerusalem, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Abu Dhabi and more.

Singapore Airlines operates daily nonstop service between Singapore and NYC –the longest flights in the world – and Philippine Airlines operates four weekly nonstop flights from Manila to NYC. In 2019, the City welcomed 229,000 visitors from Southeast Asia.