Julie Coker Is Leaving NYC Tourism + Conventions as City Funding Push Continues

After two years leading New York City Tourism and Conventions, Julie Coker is departing to become president and CEO of Visit California — a move that arrives as she is pressing New York City Hall for a major budget increase she argued the organization needs to stay competitive.

Coker will begin at Visit California in October. She remains with NYC Tourism and Conventions through August 31. The organization is launching a search for her successor.

In recent months, Coker publicly called for an $11.9 million increase in city support, arguing New York cannot compete aggressively on convention business if its tourism marketing budget lags behind rival destinations that have been expanding their sales operations. This will raise its annual appropriation to $35 million, restoring funding excluded from Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s FY27 executive budget. 

"While New York City remains one of the world's strongest destinations for meetings, conventions, and major events, the current funding shortfall limits our ability to compete as aggressively as other cities," Coker said. 

Whether that argument landed — or didn't — is now someone else's problem to solve.

Why Planners Should Care

Leadership transitions at major DMOs matter more than they used to.

DMOs have evolved from leisure marketing shops into operational partners for convention business: supporting bids, absorbing some of the cost burden planners face in high-cost cities, and in some cases, directly advocating for public investment in convention infrastructure. Coker's profile in New York was built partly on that advocacy role, not just on operational execution.

During her tenure, NYC Tourism and Conventions booked 1,515 meetings and events in 2025, generating nearly 345,000 room nights. The city welcomed approximately 65 million visitors that year and generated $55.6 billion in direct visitor spending, according to NYC Tourism and Conventions annual report. 

She arrived in 2024 from the San Diego Tourism Authority, replacing interim CEO Nancy Mammana after Fred Dixon left to lead Brand USA.

Funding Has Become a Structural Competitive Issue

Coker's departure sharpens a question New York has been circling: how aggressively is the city willing to fund convention competition?

Coker’s budget push comes as destinations across the U.S. continue to expand tourism marketing budgets and reshape how they fund destination promotion.

Chicago, for example, recently approved a Tourism Improvement District that will increase hotel taxes and expand funding for marketing. Even with that change, Choose Chicago says its roughly $34 million marketing budget still trails competitor cities.

By comparison, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority operates on $460 million annually, largely supported by room taxes and gaming revenue, while Visit Orlando’s latest budget is $105 million in tourism development funding.

A Different Challenge Awaits in California

Visit California presents a different assignment than New York. However, Coker will arrive with a head start. She previously served at the helm of the San Diego Tourism Authority. California's meetings portfolio spans Los Angeles, San Diego, Anaheim, San Francisco, Palm Springs, and other markets that frequently compete against each other for the same convention business as much as they compete against other states. The statewide DMO's role is more about coordination and brand amplification than the direct convention sales execution Coker managed in New York.

What New York Inherits

The next CEO of NYC Tourism and Conventions takes on one of the most recognized convention brands in the world — and a destination where planners regularly raise concerns about cost, logistics complexity, and whether the city delivers value commensurate with its price premium.

The budget question Coker raised publicly will land on whoever comes next.