Head cheerleader Bloomberg held a press conference in Bay Ridge yesterday to spin the stats on the city's 2009 tourist numbers. Although tourism was down nearly 4 percent from 2008, with the number of visitors to New York City declining by almost 2 million last year, the mayor struck a triumphant note, because those precious 45.25 million tourists defied a dire prediction that tourism would drop by 10 percent last year. "Last year, while tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country," Bloomberg told the press. Sorry, Orlando!
And looking to the future, last year's decline means boom, not doom, according to Bloomberg, whose office predicts that the flow of visitors will swell this year by about 1.5 million, or 3.2 percent. His ultimate goal is to reach the 50 million mark by 2012, when NYC hosts the Olympics the apocalyptic end of the Mayan calendar. But to meet that goal, Bloomberg better hope the dollar stays weak to entice foreigners—fortunately or unfortunately, it's "not as weak as it was in 2008," a Tourism Economics consultant tells the Times. Last year tourists spent an estimated $28 billion, and there was a slight hiring increase in the leisure and hospitality industry in November.
Bloomberg held the pep rally at the Greenhouse Café in Bay Ridge in part to highlight the city's next upcoming Restaurant Week, which offers discounted prix fixe deals at participating restaurants from January 25th through February 7th, with the same prices charged since 2006. The Mayor also announced the new "NYC: The Real Deal Winter" promotion, giving visitors and residents big discounts at more than 200 special offers throughout the five boroughs at hotels, attractions, museums, theaters, restaurants, shops and tours! Details! Your attitude determines your altitude!
