A local business group is reviving a long-dormant association to help Queens shake its suburban image and attract more visitors.
The Queens Tourism Council, which has existed mostly in name only since the late 1980s, is getting a fresh set of members to reflect the infusion of new businesses and attractions.
Queens Economic Development Corp. officials are hoping to capitalize on the new destinations and pry some people — and dollars — away from their trendier neighbors.
“The idea is to get people to spend money in Queens instead of in Manhattan and Brooklyn,” said Rob MacKay, director of tourism for QEDC.
The more than 20 dues-paying members represent hotel owners, sporting venues and cultural organizations. They will hold their first meeting of the resurrected Tourism Council on Monday to choose its leadership board.
Despite the borough’s real estate boom and flourishing arts scene, MacKay said many still associate Queens with sitcoms like “All in the Family.”
“We’ve got an Archie Bunker hangover,” MacKay said. “There are a ton of things that people should be doing in Queens.”
The unified front could cobble together their resources for advertising and cross-promotions, he added.
Several members said they hope the newly formed council will be a prosperous partnership.
“We can appeal to a much larger demographic if we team up and work together, especially when it comes to tourism,” said Steve Hofstetter, 32, owner of the Laughing Devil Comedy Club.
Hofstetter said he had no reservations about paying money for a seat at the round table.
“Everything you do in business costs money,” he said.
Lisa Gneo, director of sales for the Z Hotel, a new boutique hotel in Long Island City, said she doesn’t want the area to be a secret hot spot anymore.
“It’s a really great neighborhood and it has a lot to offer, I just don’t think enough people know about it,” she said.
Businesses that have yet to even open have jumped on board, hoping to use the network of entrepreneurs as a springboard.
“As individual hotels we don’t have a ton of money for marketing,” said Jeffrey Reich-Hale, sales director for the Wyndham Garden LIC Manhattan View Hotel, which is opening next month. “Bringing those monies together will help us do proper marketing campaigns.”
