By Bill Parry
For the third straight year, the Queens Economic Development Corp. will staff an information and referral kiosk at the US Open to generate business for the borough’s restaurants, hotels and cultural institutions.
Every year the two-week Grand Slam tennis tournament brings nearly a million visitors to Queens.
“We’re hustling up the borough,” QEDC Director of Marketing & Tourism Rob MacKay said.
Trained volunteers from the Queens Chamber of Commerce and the Queens Tourism Council will hand out guidebooks like “Queens in Your Pocket,” bike maps, recreational opportunities, hotel listings and a guide to the best 60 restaurants.
“We really started to make inroads last year,” MacKay said. “We heard from many people who said they didn’t like their hotels in Manhattan last year, and when they heard that Queens accommodations can be $200 less per night, they became really interested. There was two guys from Nebraska that stood out. When I told them about the Z Hotel in Long Island City, they booked rooms for this year right there on one of their smartphones.”
The United States Tennis Association provides the kiosk free of charge in a central part of the grounds at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
“We’re right in between the two stadiums the entire time, just like the ones that sell the $500 hot dogs and the $25 bottles of water,” MacKay said.
The exposure that Queens gets every summer, thanks to the US Open, is unmatched, according to MacKay.
“You can’t beat the TV coverage. Each time they go to a commercial it’s a bumper shot of the Unisphere or the New York State Pavilion,” he said. “We’re in everyone’s living room across the country for two weeks, you can’t beat that.”
Meanwhile, the USTA threw the inaugural Queens Day celebration Aug. 20. The event is part of the community outreach the USTA agreed to do when City Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst) negotiated a deal that allowed the National Tennis Center to lease 0.68 acres of public land in order to expand.
The USTA is paying $10.05 million for the 20-year package.
In addition to musical performances and other borough-centric entertainment, the USTA hosted a brunch for seniors from the 21st Council District,
“I am proud to have played a role in bringing Queens Day to our borough’s largest park,” Ferreras said. “It was such a joy to see so many local residents take part in this special day, especially for our senior citizens. I’d like to thank the USTA for their continued support for our community.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
