City tourists in a spending mood

The Walker family from Canada paid a whopping $700 for five Broadway tickets to see Al Pacino in "Merchant of Venice" - one of dozens of holiday treats the Walkers are splurging on while spending Christmas in New York.

"For that kind of money I'm hoping he'll [Al Pacino] sit down and speak with us," said Tim Walker with a chuckle Monday morning in the heart of the Times Square pedestrian mall.

Walker, 46, his wife, Bonnie, 48, his grown-up kids Matt, 22, and Vickie, 24, and future son-in-law Kevin Berryman, 26, all from Newfoundland, plan on getting tickets for the "Nutcracker" at Lincoln Center, and the King Tut exhibit in Times Square.

"We're just happy to be here. We love it here. All the hustle and bustle - I don't know what we'll do when we get home where it's so quiet. It's just so stimulating and Christmas-EE," said Bonnie, adding: "Do you know where we can get a good turkey dinner on Christmas Day?"

The city expects to have 5 million holiday visitors this season with hotel reservations up by 9 percent, according to NYC & Company, the city's official tourism, marketing and partnership organization.

For 2010, NYC & Company reports a record-breaking year for 2010 with 47.5 million visitors. The city's last record-breaker was in 2008 with about 47 million tourists hitting the city's pavements.

South Texas couple Gilberto, 55, and Sophia Olivarez, 56, were in Rockefeller Center making sure they were on hand to mug for the "Today" show cameras. "Yep, we got on. I made sure. I told my students that they better be watching this morning," said Sophia Olivarez, a fourth-grade schoolteacher from Robstown, Texas.

The Olivarezes have been to Central Park, Gray's Papaya for hot dogs and chili, to Ellis Island and the Empire State Building at night. "Today it's Yankee Stadium," Gilberto said. "Tonight maybe 'The Lion King,' " he added.

"I love it here," Sophia said. "You get to listen to all these different languages and see people from all around the world. It's like you are in a different world."

According to the Broadway League, box office grosses are up 2.7 percent this week compared with last year this week.