NYC touts banner year for tourism

The city Tuesday touted a banner year for tourism, which raked in $31 billion in visitor spending, with a record 48.7 million visitors coming to the Big Apple for vacations, a 6.8 percent increase from 2009.

Tourism in the city means "jobs," said an upbeat Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "It [tourism] is our industry and it's creating jobs," he said at a news conference at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Tuesday.

The spike in tourism dollars created 6,600 new jobs as a result of growth in entertainment, food, retail and transportation business, including increases in hotel occupancy, museum, Broadway and other attraction ticket sales in 2010, Bloomberg said.

A total of $285.4 million was collected in hotel taxes through October, a 26 percent increase compared with the same period in 2009, when the city collected $226 million, according to NYC & Company, the city's tourism marketing agency.

International tourism data also showed big gains, such as a 30 percent increase in visitors from China and Hong Kong compared with 2009, according to NYC & Company.

This was the largest jump of any country, more than the increase in western European visitors who have steadily vacationed in New York, said George Fertitta, chief executive of NYC & Company, who predicted that in three years China and Hong Kong will top the list of international visitors.

"The U.K. still tops the list, with Canada, France and Germany," said Fertitta, adding that despite the global recession, the cheap dollar continues to attract European visitors.

In one case, 45,000 Spanish visitors came to the city in 2010 as a result of a promotional partnership with NYC & Company and Spain's largest retail store, Corte Ingles, which operates a nationwide travel agency.Fertitta said visitors from Brazil, South Korea and Argentina also showed increases.

City tourism officials credited the surge to an aggressive marketing plan that opened up 18 New York City tourism offices across the globe includingAustralia, the Netherlands, Brazil, India, Ireland, Japan, Russia and Argentina.

Despite the big numbers, the mayor said it is not a time for the city to rest on its laurels. He said it should "ramp up" marketing to compete for tourism dollars.

"We have to constantly be doing edgy things," such as the trash bins that were converted into dipping pools across the city this summer. The mayor said the gimmick attracted a lot of global publicity and interest.

"It sounds crazy but it's these things that have people saying things are happening in New York City, and it makes them want to come," Bloomberg said.

Keeping city tourism competitive is "a constant evolution. We need to keep the city lively and compelling so we can create thousands more jobs in 2011," he said.