• by Karl Greenberg , January 4, 2011

It may not be in the air just yet, but there was certainly a spring in the step of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Brooklyn Borough president Marty Markowitz, New York Deputy Mayor Robert Steel and NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta when they strolled into a glass-ceilinged conference room at Brooklyn Botanical Garden's main complex to trumpet the news that tourism is way up in the Big Apple.

The city's tourism office, NYC & Company, said the city drew 48.7 million visitors last year, a 6.8% increase over 2009. The mayor says the numbers mean New York is beating its own goals, set in 2007, to have 50 million annual visitors by 2015. Now, according to Bloomberg, New York will have that many tourists by 2012.

The city says the hospitality industry added 6,600 jobs over the past year and set a record for hotel rooms added and sold. Tourists spent $31 billion on restaurants, shops, hotels and cultural institutions. The mayor said that figure represents a 10% increase in spend versus 2009, and that 39 million of the visitors were from the U.S. and 9.7 million from overseas. Hotel occupancy was 85% last year -- 25% higher than other markets in the U.S.

Bloomberg said international visitors are especially important because "they spend 3.5 more than domestic visitors. We like tourists from across the Hudson [River], from Connecticut, from upstate, from anywhere -- but international tourists spent a lot more money here." Bloomberg said 33% of all overseas visitors to the U.S. last year came to New York City, making it the top tourist destination for international visitors, with Miami and Los Angeles tied for second place.

To promote the city, NYC & Company has been using its 18 offices in 25 markets in the U.S. and around the world as press hubs to promote New York, and as a resource for group tours and exchanges.

Fertitta said the international offices are critical to seeding tourism visits. "The biggest step that got us to jump-start visits from overseas tourists was having an international representation," he said, adding that Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Miami all have tried to open representative offices around the world as well.

Among programs the organization ran this year were Restaurant Week, Fashion Night Out, Get More NYC, and Third Night Free.

The group also launched, for the first time, a multi-city program called "Live More Tour," a collaborate effort to bolster tourism and promote travel among New York, Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles.

"We've put in place a series of global marketing programs to showcase New York and bring in visitors, and those efforts are paying off," said Steel.