STAFF WRITER

Many Fordham University students have tasted a cream-stuffed cannoli from DeLillo Café & Pastry Shop or wrapped their hands around a grinder from Tino’s Delicatessen, but now some tourists may find themselves enjoying the culture right outside the Rose Hill campus as well.

NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization of the Big Apple, is launching a campaign that aims to bring foreigners to the northern Bronx.

Emily Mayrath, director of communications for NYC & Company, said the initiative showcases areas that tourists may overlook.

“[NYC & Company] is marketing neighborhoods that sometimes might be overlooked by visitors,” said Mayrath. “Our goal is to really inspire [tourists] to sample these ‘live like a local’ experiences.”

The campaign is part of the group’s “Neighborhood x Neighborhood” program that was launched in March.

The initiative has previously highlighted other areas in the city, including Brooklyn’s Coney Island and Queens’s Long Island City.

Mayrath said Fordham Road and Arthur Avenue were recently selected because of the authentic Italian cuisine and attractions such as the Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens and Edgar Allen Poe Cottage.

“We try to pick places that are close and convenient to public transportation, and [we] try to choose areas that can be successful,” said Mayrath.

The organization has promoted the Bronx neighborhood at the World Travel Market in London, England. According to NYC & Company, the UK has the most overseas visitors to New York City, with 1,033,000 stopping by last year.

Ross Garlick, GSB’15, calls the United Kingdom home as a native of Manchester, England, and said he had no idea what Arthur Avenue or Fordham Road was when he accepted the invitation to become a Ram.

“I knew nothing, actually nothing about Arthur Avenue,” said Garlick. “It was only when I met my roommate and then we explored Arthur Avenue and the cool places in the area.”

The Englishman has spent two years in the Bronx.

Garlick said when friends from home come to town he shows them the major landmarks in Manhattan, but enjoys taking them to nearby places on Arthur Avenue.

“They don’t have the Bronx Beer Hall in England or Italy. British tourists — we love our karaoke,” Garlick said. “I have taken a few English people to the Beer Hall and they loved it.”

The 22-year-old went to New York City once with his family before coming to Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus.

During the visit, he never left Manhattan.

“We went to Times Square, Fifth Avenue, Rockefeller Center,” said Garlick. “It was honestly a very touristy type of trip.”

Mayrath said the “Neighborhood x Neighborhood” campaign targets those tourists who have already come and seen the traditional New York City destinations.

“This program is for New Yorkers and [other] visitors, but really we launched it with the mindset for repeat visitors,” said Mayrath. “The UK is our number one overseas market so we are promoting this initiative because they come so often they want to see something new and different and feel like a local and travel like a local.”

When the “Neighborhood x Neighborhood” campaign was launched in March, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the program could help boost economic development in the outer boroughs.

“Visitors to New York City should know that in every borough of our great city, there are neighborhoods with great restaurants, shops and cultural institutions,” said Mayor Bloomberg.

Some of the places NYC & Company is promoting in the Fordham neighborhood happen to include the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, Zero Otto Nove and Dr. Jay’s.