Thanks to the country's weak dollar, New York City welcomed record numbers of tourists this past year. Mayor Bloomberg also credited marketing efforts and a number of events, like the renovated Museum of Modern Art, to making the city "the ideal travel and business destination." No wonder Times Square was so congested all last year. Some facts:
- An estimated 39.6 million tourists visited NYC - a 4.6% increase from last year
- International tourists increased by 10.2%
- Direct tourism spending projection: $15.1 billion, plus $220 in hotel tax revenue
We haven't found anything that talks about whether the Republican National Convention had an effect; we assume that the net tourism effect was good, while the net city effect (tons of people fled, business around MSG were desolate) was eh. The Daily News emphasizes the Hideki Matsui effect on tourism. The Yankees' star "is credit with helping create a 20% boost in tourism from Japan," thanks to how much the Japanese love him. The Mayor even said, "You can't underestimate the value of Hideki Matsui and baseball in Japan." Oh, Gothamist feels sorry for Kaz Matsui. The DN also notes some numbers of tourists from countries: The most were from the U.K. - 970,000!
Buy the Godzilla-Hideki Matsui poster here.
