On December 22, 39-year-old Tennesseean Meredith Graves brought her loaded .38 pistol in her purse to the 9/11 Memorial and, after she asked a guard if there was a place she could check it, was promptly arrested. She posted bail on Wednesday and yesterday at least one local pol started pushing for lenience (she faces a minimum sentence of 3 1/2 years on a single felony weapons-possession charge) since her gun was properly registered in her home state. Also, police say that besides the gun Graves, a fourth-year medical student, had "two envelopes of what they suspected to be cocaine" in her purse. more ›

According to the city's official tourism arm, NYC & Company, an estimated 50 million tourists will have visited NYC by the year's end, making NYC the number one domestic and overseas destination for tourist spending in the United States. But Orlando begs to differ on the domestic front: "Orlando is the No. 1 destination" in the USA, Visit Orlando corporate communications director Brian Martin told USA Today. Oh, isn't that the city whose major superstar loves it so much, he requested a trade to beautiful New Jersey? more ›

NYC & Company expects the City to attract a record-breaking 10.1 million international visitors in 2011, up 4 percent over 2010. The City also expects to attract a record-breaking 40.1 million domestic visitors, up 2.9 percent over last year. All of these warm bodies on holiday add up to a major engine of the economy: $32 billion in visitor spending last year, creating approximately 320,000 jobs across the five boroughs. Now, if only we can teach them to stay in their lanes and tipping is customary! more ›

No doubt about it, the gays just think New York City is fabulous. Lesbians do too, though they're reasons for coming can be a little more staid. Community Marketing has released its 16th annual Gay & Lesbian tourism report [PDF] and when it comes to leisure and business travel, American homosexuals choose New York City hands down. No wonder we're pushing out another gay tourism campaign! more ›

Next week will mark the second full month that Occupy Wall Street protesters have been encamped in Zuccotti Park. And ever since an aborted attempt to clean the park in early October, there hasn't been much movement to remove them from there. But it seems part of the reason for that may be because neither Mayor Bloomberg nor Brookfield Properties, who own the publicly-owned private space, want to take responsibility over enforcing the so-called park rules: "The city of New York enforces all the laws. It's not our business to enforce the laws. We have regulations for the site. That's a different thing. But as far as the laws are concerned, they enforce the laws," Brookfield chief John Zuccotti told the Post. more ›

Governor Cuomo doesn't want you buying dinky fireworks, but he's okay with Nik Wallenda crossing Niagara Falls on a tightrope. While vetoing a bill that would have legalized sparklers and other fireworks for five year olds, CityRoom reports that Cuomo signed a bill that excepts Wallenda—the seventh generation of the famous Flying Wallendas—from rules prohibiting stunts on the American side of the falls. Wallenda plans on walking over the falls next summer. more ›

As the hottest ticket in town, free reservations to visit the new 9/11 Memorial in its first 10 days of operations are completely "sold out." However, there is a way to be one of the 1,500 people let in at a time, but it's going to cost you a bit. The Daily News reports that tour companies like Statue Cruises, Gray Line Tours, and even New York Water Taxi will be able to give their patrons access to the memorial thanks to a special deal worked out with the memorial's management. For instance, Statue Cruises will transport their customers to the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the 9/11 Memorial for $20.50. To just see the memorial is $10, including a $2.50 fee that goes back into the memorial's coffers. more ›

[Update below] On top of everything else, Japan's tourist industry has taken a nose dive since the triple-punch earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear threat rocked the island nation last week. The Japan National Tourism Organization doesn't yet have any statistics about booking cancelations, but the AP reports that Americans are canceling or postponing upcoming trips to Japan. And the flip side of this is that Japanese travelers are canceling their vacations to the U.S. more ›

Thanks, weak dollar! According to Mayor Bloomberg, New York City had a record year in tourism in 2010, attracting 48.7 million tourists who spent $31 billion in the city. And boy, do they get what they pay for. This puts the city on track to attracting Bloomberg's goal of 50 million tourists annually by next year, and he told reporters, “The strength of our tourism industry is one of the reasons New York City was less impacted by the national recession than other cities, and it continues to be one of the reasons we’re growing faster than other cities today." more ›

The Bloomberg administration and the city's tourism agency, NYC & Company, say there's no evidence that our bedbug epidemic is scaring tourists away from New York. But that doesn't stop the Associated Press from publishing a thorough report under the headline "Bedbugs Keeping Tourists Away"! Reporter Sara Kugler Frazier even found three people who say they are reconsidering visiting NYC because of bedbug fears, and as you know, three's a trend. more ›

According to preliminary data, New York City is on course to have 47.5 million tourists clogging our streets by the end of the year. (Kidding! We appreciate your business; just stay to the left.) That number is over half a million more than the record in 2008, and a 4% increase over last year. Last year tourism slipped for the first time since 2001, but this year puts the city closer than ever to Mayor Bloomberg's goal of getting 50 million tourists by 2012. Hey gay folks, have you made your Rainbow Pilgrimage yet? more ›

This isn't your grandmother's tour bus! A new interactive theatrical bus tour has arrived; it's officially hitting the streets next month, but it's being unveiled for preview this Thursday. It's called "The Ride" and it's kind of like the Michael Bay of city tourism. more ›

Most tourist interaction with Staten Island involves the few minutes spent at St. George Ferry Terminal in between free rides from Manhattan, so it's no surprise that tourism kiosks advertising life outside the Terminal aren't getting much love. The interactive kiosks (the live person-manned ones were canned in 2008) advise tourists how to get to the aquarium and pointing out area restaurants in the area, but the buggy machines haven't inspired many to venture outside the docks. What's more, the the Staten Island Advance reports that the city's tourism arm, NYC & Co. doesn't even bother keeping track of Staten Island's tourism trends. more ›

According to a new, Google-sponsored study, Google is very valuable to New York! The company brought the state $6.3 billion from paid search-term advertising last year, making New York Google's 2nd highest earning state. The internet giant brought $50 million to “I Love New York” tourism alone once they adopted AdWords, with 17% of their traffic coming from the Google program. However, since Google is reporting the numbers, Google may be hyping themselves up. They're no Law & Order (RIP). more ›

In the ultimate economic Catch-22, New York's tourism office is worried that European travelers—who've been keeping the city afloat in these tough times—may stop coming now that the dollar is rising in value. XE currently says one Euro is worth $1.23, the lowest rate in a year. But NYC & Co, chief George Fertitta isn't worried yet, telling Crain's [subscription required], “European visitors who want to experience the energy and excitement of New York City will visit regardless of the cost and distance." more ›

NY State budget problems have claimed another victim: Communities that benefit from the state's I Love NY tourism marketing efforts. According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, the state is "dumping plans for a summer advertising campaign to lure tourists to New York, cutting tourism funding and not sending a representative to the travel industry's premier international conference...where companies from around the globe will consider where to send vacationers." A Binghamton travel information center may close this month, and the Chamber of Commerce president worried, "What are visitors to our community going to say when they enter New York state, stop to use the bathroom, and there's a sign up of (travel) information and it says, 'Closed for Business'?" more ›

When choosing hotel accommodations a lot of people might not want a floor-to ceiling view of construction, let alone of a site where thousands died in the most-devastating terrorist attack on the United States. Still, the vice president of Club Quarters, the hospitality chain responsible for the recently-opened World Center Hotel, thinks the unusual windowscape works in its favor. "People choose to be here because they want to be close to it. They want to feel it, they want to celebrate. They want to remember," she told the AP, standing by a balcony overlooking the site. "We have a very accessible view on it." more ›

According to officials and experts, the city's financial crisis is almost over and the job market is on the rise, but who do we thank for the less-devastating-than-expected downturn? Address cards and flowers to the federal government, which provided huge bailouts to Wall Street institutions like Citigroup, JPMogran Chase and Goldman Sachs, economists say. “If you pick almost any economic statistic—income, house prices, construction activity—it would tell the same story: New York has gotten hit, but it hasn’t gotten creamed," Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com, tells the Times. more ›

Head cheerleader Bloomberg held a press conference in Bay Ridge yesterday to spin the stats on the city's 2009 tourist numbers. Although tourism was down nearly 4 percent from 2008, with the number of visitors to New York City declining by almost 2 million last year, the mayor struck a triumphant note, because those precious 45.25 million tourists defied a dire prediction that tourism would drop by 10 percent last year. "Last year, while tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country," Bloomberg told the press. Sorry, Orlando! more ›

The Bronx street where police fired 41 shots at an unarmed black man in 1999 has become an unlikely tourist attraction, according to the Daily News. more ›

Did that New Jersey storefront on the Upper West Side get you across the Hudson to check out some foliage? The NY Times reports from the state's temporary Manhattan outpost (which is still up and running), saying that it's not about competition or stealing Manhattanites away (was that really ever a fear?). more ›

The sneaky state of New Jersey has quietly made its way into a storefront on the Upper West Side; opening a pop-up tourism store on West 73rd and Columbus that is suspiciously devoid of Bon Jovi, the Boss, scrunchies and mall references. more ›

The Times Square Alliance has started rolling out the upgraded look of the pedestrian malls that have taken over the center of the city with brand new seating and even some greenery to really get tourists in the true lounging spirit. The Alliance said that the new seats were "more typical of outdoor furniture" and the Post is calling them "classy." And what screams classy more than sitting inside a giant baseball glove chair? (Let's hope that Beetlejuice doesn't find his way over to the Theater District!) Also arriving at the closed-off sections of Broadway to replace the original eyesore, death trap lawn chairs are silver benches made for two, so get ready to catch some PDA in your periphery while averting your eyes from the Naked Cowboy. The center of the roadway also now will have a Zelkova or oak trees surrounded by "dozens of other small plants." Not everyone loves the new European look though, with one woman from Austin telling the Post, "I wanted to see taxi-to-taxi gridlock and grittiness. I didn't expect to see trees in the middle of the street." Great, now even tourists want the nasty old Times Square back. more ›

Citing the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, city officials are hoping to make NYC's gay history and culture a compelling reason for gay tourists to visit the Big Apple: Today they launched a new $1.9 million marketing campaign, "Rainbow Pilgrimage," hoping to make visiting NYC seem like a "a ‘rite of passage’ for the gay and lesbian traveler," according to City Room. The city's tourism marketing website now has a gay section, nycgo.com/gay which offers suggestions on things to do and a list of gay landmarks. University of Illinois at Chicago professor of history and gender and women's studies John D'Emilio remarked to CityRoom, "Forty-plus years ago, a newspaper like The New York Times had front-page articles alerting the city to the growing problem of ‘overt homosexuality.' Within living memory, something has been turned around. People who were seen as an unwelcome presence are now encouraged to arrive." Here's a Stonewall riots podcast from the Bowery Boys. more ›

The city announced that an estimated 47 million people visited NYC this year. The number is a new record high (last year, there were 46 million visitors) and the city also estimates that the tourists spent $30 billion (another record--last year tourists brought in $28.9 billion). However, with the recession, the increase of tourists was only 2%, small compared to the 5% uptick between 2006 and 2007. Mayor Bloomberg was optimistic, "While we can't promise that we will hit another record next year, I do think we'll continue to see a lot of tourists on our streets." He spoke at Rockefeller Center, where CityRoom reports some students from Medford (Mass.) High School cheered him on: "Mr. Bloomberg thanked all of them for coming and said, 'We love you; go spend some money,' before he went on his way." more ›

In recent years, as the dollar weakened, tourism remained high and helped bolster the city's economy. However, the faltering economy's repercussions are starting to hurt the hotel sector. The Marriott Marquis's general manager tells Crain's, "The financial markets have scared off a lot of different companies that we do business with.” And a budget hotel operator tells the Times, "There’s hesitancy in bookings. We hold our breath and fill up rooms at the last minute. Occupancy has been weaker in October, traditionally one of the strongest months.” The hotel industry is reiterating their opposition to any hotel tax hike, but given the hard times, it's possible the City Council might try to pass one--City Councilman Lew Fidler says an extra $70 million/year could be raised, "The idea of not reaching into the pocket of foreign tourists before reaching into the pocket of New Yorkers is offensive." more ›

Forget about living there for a second, right now Mayor Bloomberg just wants you to think of Staten Island as a nice place to visit (baby steps). With all the sudden hype around the borough (a music festival, anti-gentrification graffiti), could 2008 be the year it sheds the bad stigma (and stench) it's known for? The NY Sun reports on the Mayor's initiative to encourage New Yorkers to take a staycation on the Island, making it not only the new Williamsburg, but the new Hamptons? more ›