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New York Tourism Hit Record High in 2010

05 January 2011 11:45 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA-Economics. Tourists flooded into the Big Apple in record-breaking numbers last year, officials said, New York Daily News reported.

"If you want to think about it, tourism is our replacement for industry," Mayor Bloomberg said Tuesday as he announced that New York drew a record 48.7 million visitors last year and created 6,600 new tourism jobs.

"We don’t have the kind of manufacturing jobs ... that we had before, but we’ve replaced it with a different industry, one where, really, New York City has something that is unique and we can compete with other cities around the world."

Tourism bounced back in 2010 after taking a recession-driven hit in 2009.

Officials credited the city’s presence in TV and movies for its popularity, as well as cultural institutions, shopping districts and an aggressive marketing effort around the world.

City analysts say the record 39 million American visitors and 9.7 million foreigners spent $31 billion in the five boroughs. They’re also credited with employing more than 300,000 New Yorkers.

Asked if tourists would be bothered by problems like the blizzard last week - or the resulting trash piles this week, Bloomberg says tourists are more rugged than that.

"Most of these people from around the world and around the country come from cities," he said. "They have problems and so they’re understanding."