Bloomberg: Brooklyn Helped Boost Tourism in NYC

Mayor Michael Bloomberg trumpeted a 6.8 percent rise in tourism over 2009 at a press conference in the Palm House of the this morning.

According to Bloomberg, 48.7 million people visited New York City in 2010, creating 6,600 jobs. Bloomberg has a goal of 50 million annual visitors by 2012.

One of the reasons tourism is up is because the city has been pushing tourism to the attractions offered by the outer boroughs, such as the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Bloomberg said, noting that the garden had an additional 10,000 tourists in 2010.  

He used the city's help in funding the garden's new $38 million visitor's center as an example of the priority his administration puts on funding cultural institutions, which he said are the city's main draw for tourists.

Marty Markowitz touted Brooklyn's many tourist attractions including Coney Island and the imminent arrival of the Nets.

"Brooklyn is a travel destination in its own right," said Markowitz. "Truth is you could spend weeks in Brooklyn and still not exhaust all the tourist options."

New York City is the number one destination for foreign and domestic tourists alike, Bloomberg said, adding that the city is the destination for a third of all foreign visitors, with Los Angeles and Miami tying for second at about 11 percent each.

In addition, New York City has a hotel occupancy rate of 85 percent, 25 percentage points higher than America's other major markets.

"The bottom line is New York seems to go against the rest of the trends. We've done well," he said.

Bloomberg was joined at the podium by Brooklyn Botanic Garden President Scot Medbury, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert K. Steel and NYC & Company CEO George Fertitta.

After the event, Medbury said the jump in Botanic Garden visitors would have been even higher if the Cherry Blossom and Chili festivals hadn't coincided with rain. The drop in visitors to those events was compensated for by the increase from the many special events connected to the garden's 100th anniversary, he added.

Markowitz estimated that 15 million tourists came to Brooklyn last year.

"There's one message I have for travelers to our city," he joked.  "Please don't forget Manhattan."