Tourism in New York City

The Circle Line XVII touring the Harlem River

European visitors at Rockaways shore

Tourists gather round a busker in Columbus Circle

Tourism in New York City includes nearly 47 million foreign and American tourists each year. Major destinations include the Empire State Building, Ellis Island, Broadway theatre productions, museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and other tourist attractions including Central Park, Washington Square Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Bronx Zoo, South Street Seaport, New York Botanical Garden, luxury shopping along Fifth and Madison Avenues, and events such as the Tribeca Film Festival, and free performances in Central Park at Summerstage and Delacorte Theater. The Statue of Liberty is a major tourist attraction and one of the most recognizable icons of the United States. Many New York City ethnic enclaves, such as Jackson Heights, Flushing, and Brighton Beach are major shopping destinations for first and second generation Americans up and down the East Coast.

New York City has over 28,000 acres (110 km2) of parkland and 14 linear miles (22 km) of public beaches. Manhattan's Central Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, is the most visited city park in the United States. Prospect Park in Brooklyn, also designed by Olmsted and Vaux, has a 90 acres (36 ha) meadow.Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, the city's third largest, was the setting for the 1939 World's Fair and 1964 World's Fair.

New York's food culture, influenced by the city's immigrants and large number of dining patrons, is diverse. Jewish and Italian immigrants made the city famous for bagels, cheesecake and New York-style pizza. Some 4,000 mobile food vendors licensed by the city, many immigrant-owned[clarification needed], have made Middle Eastern foods such as falafel and kebabs standbys of contemporary New York street food. The city is also home to many of the finest haute cuisine restaurants in the United States.

The famed Dakota on Central Park West

View from Central Park of buildings along Central Park South, including Essex House

Tour guide lecturing in Italian at Morris-Jumel Mansion

Sporting events are also tourist events. Major venues include Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, and Madison Square Garden. Street fairs and street events such as the Halloween Parade in Greenwich Village, and New York Marathon also attract tourists.

Industry

Tourism in New York City is a large industry. According to NYC & Company (the official destination marketing organization for the city of New York), the top producing countries for international visitors to New York City in 2005 were the United Kingdom (1,169,000), Canada (815,000), Germany (401,000), Japan (299,000), Italy (292,000), France (268,000), Ireland (253,000), Australia (235,000), Spain (205,000), Greece (148,000), and the Netherlands (147,000).

Unlike many other destinations, New York City does not have a distinctive tourist season. With the exception of slight peaks around Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, visitor arrival rates are roughly the same year-round. New York also has one of the highest hotel-occupancy rates in the country. Arrivals have remained relatively high even since the global economic crisis, due to heavy discounting and value-added pricing.

Spearheading the city's tourism efforts is NYC & Company, the city's official convention and visitor bureau currently headed by George Fertitta. It has offices in 14 countries, including Argentina, Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, The Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Japan, Korea and China. NYC & Company is the official source of tourism statistics for the city. The research department develops and distributes comprehensive information on NYC domestic and international visitor statistics and monitors the travel industry's impact on New York City's economy. The department also produces 14 official New York City tourism marketing publications that feature information on member hotels, museums, attractions, theaters, stores, restaurants, meeting venues, and service providers.

Double decker tour buses and boats with tour guides bring sightseers to various parts of Manhattan and other boroughs, while pedicabs and horse cabs serve those with a taste for more personal service. More adventurous tourists rent bicycles at neighborhood shops or along the Hudson River Greenway or simply walk, which is often the quickest way to get around in congested, busy commercial districts and always the best way to appreciate street life.

Many visitors investigate their genealogy at historic immigration sites such as Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty. Other tourist destinations include the Empire State Building, for 41 years the world's tallest building after its construction in 1931, Radio City Music Hall, home of The Rockettes, a variety of Broadway shows, the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, housed on a World War II aircraft carrier, and city landmarks such as Central Park, one of the finest examples of landscape architecture in the world. New York City has encouraged tourist shopping by eliminating its sales tax on clothing and footwear.

The World Trade Center was an important tourist destination before the September 11, 2001 attacks, which devastated the city and its tourist industry. Tourists were scarce for months, and it took two years for the numbers to fully rebound with fewer international, but more domestic visitors, due in part to an emphasis on "patriotic tourism". The World Trade Center site itself became an important place to visit.

mportant place to visit.

New York City Tourism Statistics

Year	Total Visitors (millions)	Domestic Visitors	International Visitors	Total Visitor Spending Billions(US$)
1991	29.1	23.6	5.5	10.1
1995	28.5	23.1	5.4	11.7
1998	33.1	27.1	6.0	14.7
1999	36.4	29.8	6.6	15.6
2000	36.2	29.4	6.8	17.0
2001	35.2	29.5	5.7	15.1
2002	35.3	30.2	5.1	14.1
2003	37.8	33.0	4.8	18.5
2004	39.9	33.8	6.2	21.1
2005	42.6	35.8	6.8	22.8
2006	43.8	36.5	7.3	24.7
2007	46.0	37.1	8.8	28.9
2008	47.0	37.2	9.8	30.0

(source:wikipedia)

Rewind Time: Ciroc the New Year with Kourtney Kardashian

If you couldn't make it to Miami for our Ciroc the New Year celebration with Kourtney Kardashian, no worries. We've archived our livestream of the event so you can relive it on video above (the show-proper starts at about the 5 minute mark).

Not to spoil the fun, but Kourtney looked hot wearing a curve-alicious turquoise dress. Chic, of course, but also...Dolphins colors!

And after counting down to the New Year, Kourtney sat down with Michael Yo and me to chat, dropping a few juicy details about Kim's dating life when the sisters Take New York, starting January 23.

Rewind New Year's eve with us as we mix specialty cocktails, talk fashion and mingle with the beautiful people in South Beach!

(source:eonline.com)

Big Names Lined Up For “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”

NEW YORK (December 31, 2010)--Ke$ha and Taio Cruz headline "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" Friday in Times Square in New York City.

Cruz plans to sing John Lennon's "Imagine."

The New Kids and Backstreet Boys will perform together.

On the West Coast, the lineup includes Avril Lavigne, Ne-Yo, Drake and Train.

Jennifer Hudson will be there, too, along with Natasha Bedingfield and Willow Smith. Black Eyed Peas will host the West Coast part of the show.

You'll be able to buy Taio (TY'-oh) Cruz's cover of John Lennon's "Imagine" starting Saturday through Jan. 31 on iTunes.

Proceeds from sales will go to Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Avril Lavigne will debut her new song "What the Hell" Friday and she’ll offer free downloads of the song on her Facebook page for 48 hours starting Saturday.

 http://wsjr.nl/New York.html

Your Guide to New York’s New Year’s Eve Love-In

It’s New Year’s Eve, and the organizers and sponsors of the bash in Times Square want you to pucker up.

Apparently, 2011 is the year of love. This year’s celebration will include a “Kiss Platform” where two long-distance couples will be reunited and 30,000 revelers will receive samples of lip balm, courtesy of Nivea, one of the sponsors of the event, in preparation for smooching at midnight. Even the 12-foot wide, 11,875 pound geodesic sphere that an estimated one billion people will watch is themed “Let There Be Love.” Waterford Crystal has added 288 new triangles etched with “a romantic pattern” that will join the 2,688 crystals covering 32,256 digitally controlled Philips Luxeon L.E.D.’s, which use about as much energy per hour as two traditional home ovens.

And by the time it’s all over, the 453 bulbs that light the seven-foot-tall “2011″ sign and the tons of confetti fall into the slush, one couple will have been pronounced man and wife.

Two Marine Corps reservists, Bethany Phillips and Geoffrey Dubie, who met in Iraq and were engaged on a Bahamian beach, were selected in Get Married Media’s “Get Married in Times Square contest” to be the first couple in the celebration’s 106-year history to recite their vows in front of the throngs of revelers in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and one of his daughters will be there, as will aging performers from the 1980s like Rick Springfield, Backstreet Boys and NKOTB, with a special performance by the English singer Taio Cruz, who will sing “Falling In Love” and John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

Snooki, from MTV’s reality series “Jersey Shore,” will not be there, however. Here is the complete schedule of the evening’s events.

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

Front loaders removed snow from Broadway, north of Times Square on Thursday.

The festivities will begin at 4 p.m. under partly cloudy skies with temperatures hovering around the freezing mark.

Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance, which produces the event with Countdown Entertainment, estimated the organizers lost about a day due to the blizzard. But with the help of shovels, plows, industrial special snow melting machines and 500,000 pairs of feet trudging through the area, very little white will be left.

“The show must go on and the snow must be gone,” he said.

Where to Watch

Last year’s live Webcast was seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers in 196 countries worldwide, though many reported sluggish service, undoubtedly due to overtaxed networks. You can watch the stream, beginning at 5:50 p.m. Friday and ending after midnight, on TimesSquareNYC.org; Livestream.com/2011, TimesSquareBall.net, or below:

Watch live streaming video from 2011 at livestream.com

Revelers on the go can download the first official Times Square Ball App and watch on-demand videos at a comfortable arms-length distance from their mobile device, which is available for Android and Apple users free on iTunes. Mobile networks permitting, users with the application will be able to watch the entire six-and-a-half-hour sequence of events and post photos of their own celebrations, a selection of which will be projected on the “Toshiba Vision” sign below the Times Square Ball.

Check into Times Square on FourSquare, download the Facebook application, or use Twitter with the hashtag #TimesSquareBall.

Safety

At a news conference on Thursday morning, Mayor Bloomberg outlined the basic rules.

“No backpacks, no alcohol, you’ve got to behave,” he said. “The kinds of things you would expect. Every year we have a great celebration and I think this will be another one.”

Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly, who was also at the news conference, added that, “we have no specific threats against the city on New Year’s Eve. Any time large numbers of people come together, we put in our counterterrorism overlay.”

Asked if the police would do anything differently because of recent cases of package bombs emanating from overseas, Mr. Kelly said, “We always do things a little bit differently, we don’t want to get stuck in a rut, so some of our deployments will change. We have a lot of detection equipment that we deploy. We have blocker cars; over sixty blocker cars that will be in place; our helicopters. There’s thirty-three dinner cruises on the river. We police those. There’s a lot of activity going on. We have a lot of experience in dealing with it. And, again, I think it will be a safe and happy event.”

Mr. Kelly said the department was sensitive to any signs of a dirty bomb or radiation.

“We have several thousand radiation detectors that are deployed with our officers,” he said. “We have large radiation detection equipment that we deploy on vehicles. We actually have it on all our harbor launches in the water, so we’re certainly very sensitive to that issue.”

Marcus Yam for The New York Times

Daniel McGowan sorts out inflated balloons to be handed out at the event.

Getting There

The New York Police Department will begin restricting access to streets in and around Times Square about 2:30 p.m. Seventh Avenue, from 41st to 59th Streets, Broadway, from 47th to 59th Streets and 43rd to 47th Streets, from Sixth to Eighth Avenue, will all be closed to traffic.

When Times Square closes to vehicle traffic at 3:00 p.m., revelers can begin to fill up the viewing sections along Broadway and Seventh Avenue, moving northward from 43rd Street to Central Park, as designated by Police Officers.

Beginning at 5 p.m. 42nd Street from 6th to Eighth Avenues will be closed to traffic.

Moving across town between 42nd and 59th Streets will be difficult after 6 p.m. You won’t be allowed to cross Broadway or Seventh Avenue once the streets have been closed. If your destination is east of Broadway/Seventh Avenue, you must enter at Sixth Avenue. If your destination is west of Broadway/Seventh Avenue, you must enter at Eighth Avenue.

Visitors are encouraged to walk or take the subway to 42nd Street. Note that only the Sixth and Eighth Avenue exits will be open after 7 p.m. The southbound and northbound N/R lines will skip the 49th Street station beginning at 7 p.m., until after midnight, and the northbound No. 1 train will skip the 50th Street station during the same period.

Once you get out of the subway, police officers will direct you to viewing sections marked off with barricades that are first-come-first-served.

The official rules state:

Backpacks and large bags prohibited

Alcoholic beverages prohibited

Property may not be abandoned at checkpoints

Attendees who leave before the ball drops will not be able to gain entry to their original viewing area

Marcus Yam for The New York Times

Landmark Sign company workers erected the illuminated ball during a dress rehearsal.

The organizers, the mayor and the police department are planning on another success this year.

The goal, Mr. Tompkins said, is to “break through that lovable but persistent cynicism of New Yorkers and to ask: What are we hopeful about and what are we celebrating?”

“It’s a determination to celebrate despite the trials and tribulations and traumas of life,” he added.

(source:blogs.nytimes.com)

New Yorkers Celebrate

Fireworks rang out and confetti rained down as about one-million revelers welcomed the year 2011 in Times Square Friday night.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his girlfriend Diana Taylor, his daughter and Medal of Honor Recipient Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta triggered the traditional ball drop, which was followed as usual by a recording of "Auld Lang Syne" and then Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."

John Lennon's "Imagine" was performed by pop star Taio Cruz in its customary spot leading up to midnight.

Revelers began gathering as early as 10 a.m. to locate the best spot.

"It's on my bucket list," said one Times Square visitor.

"I turned 21 in November so this is my 21st birthday present," said another.

This year, the famed crystal ball featured 2,500 Waterford crystals illuminated with LED lights.

The agency estimated the crowd left more than 40 tons of party hats, noisemakers, confetti and streamers following the celebration. Officials said nearly 150 sanitation workers armed with dozens of mechanical sweepers, trucks and leaf blowers helped clear everything out for New Year's Day.

Security in the area was typically tight, with the New York City Police Department using radiological and biological detectors as part of the security operations.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says while there were no specific threats, the department takes no chances.

"Anyone who enters the area will receive a magnitometer check and it may be more than once quite frankly," said the police commissioner. "Women will have to open their purses, men will have to open their jackets. We find that this is helpful and the way to make certain it's a safe and peaceful event."

Around the world Friday, revelers gathered to bid farewell to 2010.

In Australia more than a million revelers lined the Sydney Harbour Bridge to watch the massive fireworks display over the water as the clock struck 12.

While in nearby New Zealand, fireworks lit up the Auckland sky at midnight.

In South Korea, the celebrations were a little more subdued.

As the New Year hit, more than a 100,000 people gathered to watch as officials rang a giant bronze bell. It tolled 33 times -- a tradition that dates back to the 1300s.

In Hong Kong, a large crowd gathered in Victoria Harbour to watch a dazzling display, as fireworks appeared to bounce off of buildings across the skyline.

A similar display was also seen by revelers in Taiwan.

A large, upscale mall in Bangkok provided the backdrop for the big fireworks show as the clock struck 12 in Thailand.

And, at the Vatican, thousands were in attendance as the pope presided over the traditional New Year's Mass.

(source:ny1.com)