Fred Dixon – People We Love 2018

Only a few people in the word understand the public pressures of Fred Dixon’s job — and they’re people like Super Bowl Halftime performers, astronauts and okay, maybe Hillary Clinton. Dixon is the man whose job description includes “overall responsibility for developing and implementing New York City’s tourism marketing and convention development strategy internationally as well as in domestic leisure and business markets.” With nearly two dozen years of experience in the travel and tourism industry, Dixon somehow makes it look easy.

“No question,” he says, “promoting the greatest city in the world is the honor of a lifetime; but people do ask all the time, doesn’t the city sell itself? In many ways it sets the bar for destinations near and far, but there is no shortage of competitors eager and ready to eat our lunch. Travelers and event planners have more options today than ever before in our shrinking world. Also, no destination evolves and reinvents itself like New York so it’s important to keep our image updated, fresh and inviting.”

Since no one throws a party like a gay man, Dixon can’t wait for NYC to host WorldPide in 2019. With some 2 million visitors expected for the event, he calls it “no small endeavor.” This, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, marks the first time WorldPride will be held in the United States. Think of Dixon as the conductor of New York’s massive tourism orchestra. “Our hats are off to the organizers at NYC Pride for the monumental effort being undertaken to produce and finance everything,” he says. “We are proud to be partnering with them at NYC & Company to bear much of the weight of international promotion and publicity as well as hospitality training so we can make sure NYC is top of its game as the most welcoming and inclusive destination anywhere. We have a great story to tell.”