NYC Tourism Breaks Records in 2010

2008 was a record year when 47 million tourists visited the Big Apple.  (The industry standard defines a visit by a tourist as a visit by someone who travels more than fifty miles--not including commuters--or spends one night in the city.)  New York tourism in 2009 saw a predictable dip with the financial woes of the country and world, but still managed to attract 45.6 million.

2010 set a new record with 48.7 million visitors.  39 million were Americans and 9.7 million were from abroad.  (A whopping 33% of international visitors came to New York.  Miami and Los Angeles--tied for second--each attracted 11%.)

Tourism is now New York's fifth-largest industry, and 2010's banner year brought $31 billion in direct spending to our metropolis. 

The Season Is Officially Over

From the 3rd through the 8th of July, my computer was victim to an insidious spyware virus that rendered the machine relatively inoperable, so I didn't get a chance to proclaim that:

TOUR SEASON 2010 HAS COME TO AN END!!!

Thanks to all my groups from California, Texas, Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Nevada, Virginia, South Carolina, and Missouri...not to mention the corporate groups from everywhere else.

New York City Reclaims First Place after 20 Years

The 2009 numbers are in and while the number of visitors to New York City decreased for the first time since the terrorism-related dip in 2001-2002, the number did not decrease by the 10% projected earlier in the year.

During the financialy bleak 2009, 45.25 million people still visited the Big Apple--and spent $28 billion--making it the most visited city in the United States.

Even with the decrease from the previous year, 2009 was the third best year in the city's history--only 2007 and 2008 brought in more tourism.

A couple trivia questions for your Wednesday morning:

A)  What city lost its #1 status this year?  (Hint:  Its rodents are even larger than those in New York.)

B)  8.6 million international visitors came to New York, twice as many as any other American city.  What city had the second highest number of international tourists?

Answers after the jump.

My October Season Comes to a Close

As a few close friends read the first draft of my new novel--about the world of student travel--I took the month of October to work, work, work with student groups from California, Oregon and Indiana, pictured below...

...with the bull at Bowling Green...

...on the High Line...

 

...and at the Pond in Central Park. 

TRIVIA QUESTION:  I also worked a number of corporate programs.  In the past, autumn was always busy with banks and car companies.  Not this year.  What two industries--thriving in the recession--did Robert work for this fall?  Answer after the jump.

Six Positives About This Past Tour Season

6--The new Herald Square.  I don't love the new Herald Square as much as I hate the new Times Square, but at least here you can make an argument that the traffic flow has actually improved.  In Times Square, there was only downtown and crosstown traffic, but in Herald Square, there was uptown, crosstown, and downtown, which required a tedious series of light changes.  Traffic on Sixth was almost always congested down to at least Twenty-seventh Street.  With the removal of vehicles from Broadway, traffic up Sixth moves and the seating here doesn't seem as offensive.

5--The opening of the wonderful South Ferry subway station--the first new station in twenty-five years.

4--The new vendors on Liberty and Ellis Islands.  Polite, clean, environmentally conscious, and creative.  For years, I have told my tours that Ellis Island, for obvious reasons, should feature a different country every month and provide a real international food court.  In 2009, the new vendor created just that.  July was French for Bastille Day, March was Irish for St. Patrick's.  There was also Polish, Italian, etcetera.  The quality of the food is also superior to that the previous low bidder served.

3--The reopening of the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing!

2--The reopening of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.  After several years of renovation and cleaning, it is radiant.

1--THE HIGH LINE!!!!!

Six Negatives About This Past Tour Season

Ever since the season ended, I have wanted to post an entry about what my fellow guides and I loved and hated about this spring.  After an informal poll (which entailed my asking, "Don't you agree with me that...?") I have come up with a list of twelve.  Today:  six features which earned a thumbs-down.

6--THE RAIN!!!!!!!!!  This includes the clouds, the overall gray, and the fog...though that last one was also beautiful.

5--The number of closings.  I stopped posting these a few months ago, because they were depressing me, but that does not mean the closings have abated.  On one recent afternoon, in the course of only two hours, I came across FOR RENT signs in the windows of one of my favorite coffee shops, one of my favorite restaurants, and the copy store which I had used since 1997.

4--The remains of the graffiti at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park.  You can still make out the tags on certain columns, and where you can't see the vandalism on the wall panels, you can see the discoloration that the removal itself caused.

3--The rise in subway and bus fares.  Ridiculous.  $2.25 for a single ride.  $8.25 for a day pass.  I HEART NY, BUT I HATE THE MTA.

2--Petty crime and con jobs targeting the out-of-towner were back this spring.  Beyond pickpockets, one of my students was literally grabbed and pulled against a wall on Fifth Avenue (Fifth Avenue, mind you) and pressured to buy a Hip Hop CD from one of our overlooked artists.  When the kid opened his wallet (a stupid move, granted) the salesman grabbed several bills and ran.  And then there was the proliferation of devious food cart vendors.  One frequently used trick is to give change for a ten even though a twenty was paid.  Another is to offer the $4 bottle of water instead of the $2.50 bottle the sign advertises.  A third is to charge an extra dollar for the hot dog or pretzel.  If someone challenges the cost and points to the price sign, the vendor apologizes for the honest mistake.  He just did the math wrong, his raised hands imply; however, as we all know, he does the math wrong all day long.

1--The Transformation of Times Square into Slothville. 

TOMORROW:  SIX POSITIVES!!

The Tour Season Ends: The Newest Statue in Central Park

The season ended yesterday, as usual, with Nelsen Middle School from Renton, Washington.

I placed my requisite bottle of Poland Springs on a pedestal in Central Park and waited for the late June sun to stream through the branches of the elm trees.

Thirty-seven groups have come to New York and returned to their homes in Arkansas, California, Texas, Minnesota, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Oregon, Canada and Ireland.

And now it's time for me to return to my home in Upstate Manhattan and concentrate on knocking my next novel into shape.  There is writing to do.

So I willed that one little part of my soul--that trivia-dispensing, Starburst-tossing, sidewalk-trekking piece of myself--into a frozen state.

And I left him there.  In the park.  Near the Mall.  That's where the statue will remain until the next wave of students come to the city singing their song:

What are we doing next?

What are we doing next?

Where are we eating lunch?

What are we doing next?

What are we doing next?

What are we doing next?

Where's the gift shop?

What are we doing next?

Victory: Rain, Makeovers and Sherpas

As I mentioned yesterday, this season could be titled "Partly Cloudy with Chance of Rain."  On Day One of one of my favorite tours each year (New Braunfels, Texas, who hosted me down their way in July, 2007) we encountered a heavy mist as soon as we came out of the subway in the West Village.  By St. Luke's Place, most had shed their ponchos, but by Commerce Street, Lynda, the lead teacher, still wore something on her head.  I don't remember what it was.  A recycling bag?

I'm posting this picture for a couple reasons. 

One, because Lynda very clearly said, "Don't put this on your website."

Two, because I noticed she's carrying my reading material.  I've developed a habit of turning my tourists into my sherpas (so that I can have my hands free to point and gesture) and I love that you can make out the elegant, triumphantly gilded Victory on the cover of my Met Art Museum Bulletin.  It's as if Sherman's angel is leading these Texans through the Village.

And three, because two mornings later, while this group stood outside the Today Show in ponchos and rain gear, two of the moms were picked out of the crowd for makeovers.  (If Lynda had still been wearing the plastic recycling bag on her head, perhaps she would have been chosen as well.)  You can watch their makeovers and their response (a dozen of them were chosen to come inside for the unveiling) on the Today Show on Friday morning--during the later, Kathy Lee portion of the show.

The Tour Season's First Wave Has Crashed and Receded on the Shores of Manahatta

The first part of the Spring Tour Season ended for me yesterday after 52 days of work, including 15 boat trips to the Statue of Liberty, and 21 groups from Ireland, Arkansas, California, Texas, Minnesota, Alabama, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Arizona, and Tennessee.

Thanks to all the gardeners who made the last few weeks so beautiful.  Thanks also to about 850 of my tourists for coming to New York and to about 100 of them for going home.

Thanks to all the amazing kids like Mary from Alabama (and her friend Kayla Kelly) who make working with the student groups so rewarding!