New York City Welcomed 47 Million Visitors, Including a Record 9.8 Million International Visitors, and Attracted $30 Billion in Total Visitor Spending in 2008, Keeping New York as the Projected Number One Tourist City in the Country.
“Despite the economic challenges all cities are facing, tourism remains a bright spot for New York City, with 47 million visitors spending $30 billion here in 2008, the highest totals we’ve ever achieved,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “To be sure, the ongoing downturn will weigh on New York City’s hospitality industry as people all over the world cut back on travel, but the investments we’ve made to promote New York City will continue to pay dividends, now more than ever.
In 2007, the $28.9 billion in visitor spending we garnered caused New York City to surpass Orlando and Las Vegas to rank number one among U.S. cities for the first time ever, and this year we’ve done even better. The number of overseas travelers coming to New York City continues to rise, and now roughly a third of all who come to the U.S. come to New York. The importance of diversifying our economy is clearer today than ever, and we will continue to make strategic investments to promote New York City and keep it the place travelers want to come.”
New York City’s hotel occupancy rates continued to top the national average in 2008 by at least twenty percentage points despite the economic downturn. The City added 1,800 net rooms to its hotel inventory, bringing the total to roughly 75,600 rooms, and in 2008, room demand increased 2 percent.
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