NYC Is Top 2009 U.S. Tourist Draw, Bloomberg Says

New York’s 45.25 million visitors surpassed Orlando, Florida, the home of Walt Disney Co.’s Walt Disney World, after finishing second in 2008, according to NYC & Co., the city’s marketing office. In 2009, Orlando placed second, said George Fertitta, chief executive officer of the tourism effort.

“We began 2009 with a dismal forecast for the city’s tourism industry,” Fertitta said at a Brooklyn news conference today. “Our initial projections estimated a 10 percent decrease.” The actual drop was 3.9 percent.

An international advertising campaign, promotions for discounted airfares and several months of reduced hotel rates helped tourists compensate for a slide in business travel during the worst economic decline since the Great Depression. Jobs in leisure and hospitality rose to 311,000, a gain of 1.3 percent from late 2007, before the national recession began, according to the state Labor Department.

New York City visitors spent about $28 billion last year, injecting about $45 billion of total purchases in the economy, NYC & Co. said. The city predicted 46.7 million visitors in 2010, and the mayor has set a goal of 50 million by 2012. The tourism office, with an annual budget of $38 million, has 18 branches serving 25 markets worldwide.