New York Citys Tourism Industry On Track To Achieve Record-Breaking Levels In 2010

NEW YORK CITY’S TOURISM INDUSTRY ON TRACK TO ACHIEVE RECORD-BREAKING LEVELS IN 2010

City Welcomes 23.5 Million Visitors During First Half of the Year, Posts 6.8 Percent Uptick in Hotel Occupancy

New York City Still Expected to Achieve Goal of 50 Million Annual Visitors by 2012

New York City (August 11, 2010) – During a joint Blue Room ceremony at City Hall today, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg was joined by elected officials, NYC & Company, and Delta Air Lines to announce that New York City is on track to achieve record-breaking tourism levels in 2010. The preliminary visitor volume results show that New York City welcomed approximately 23.5 million visitors in the first half of 2010, a 8.75 percent increase over the same period in 2009. New York City remains on course to host approximately 47.5 million visitors by the end of 2010 – a 4.2 percent increase over 2009 and a new record. The tourism industry remains New York City’s fifth largest industry contributing to more than 300,000 jobs and nearly $30 billion in direct spending across the City’s five boroughs. The City is also expected to achieve its goal of 50 million annual visitors by 2012.

“The first half of 2010 has been particularly strong and our early projections show a return to record-breaking visitation levels,” said NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta. “Under the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg, we have created the City’s first global marketing campaign and developed strategic public-private partnerships that have built and promoted the brand of New York City around the world in a way that has ensures this $30 billion industry remain vibrant and engages to both visitors and New Yorkers alike.”

New York City’s tourism industry continues to rebound across all sectors. From January through June 2010, average hotel occupancy rate in the City was 6.8 percent above the same period in 2009, and the expansion of room demand has balanced the increased room inventory across the City. An additional 1 million more hotel room nights were sold compared to the same time period in 2009, outperforming 2008, which was also a record year. In addition, hotel tax revenues contributed $178 million to the city, up 25 percent over 2009.The first half of 2010 also saw a 9.4 percent increase in the number of Amtrak non-commuter passengers arriving at Penn Station to more than 1.8 million non-commuter arrivals. Similarly, the total volume of in-bound passenger traffic at the City’s three major airports rose 1.2% during the January-May period while international arrivals rose 4.8%.

Other indicators of the rebounding health of the industry include employment in the leisure and hospitality sector, which show continued increases since the beginning of the year, and by June 2010, more than 320,000 people were employed in the leisure and hospitality sector. In addition, Broadway theatres sold more than 6 million tickets an increase of 3.7 percent over the same period in 2009.

NYC & Company is the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide. For all there is to do and see in New York City, visit nycgo.com.

For more press inquiries please contact Chris Heywood at 212.484.1270 or cheywood@nycgo.com.