Shoppers still making New York trek

IRISH shoppers are continuing to flock to New York despite the downturn with figures indicating numbers are up on last year.

The Dublin-based New York tourist board, NYC & Company, said feedback from two of the largest tour operators, Tour America and Sunway, say that their business to New York City in 2009 was up on the previous year.

Also it said Continental Airlines reported “particularly high” load factors throughout 2009 on their direct services to New York from Belfast, Dublin and Shannon.

It said Continental reported the highest load factor from Ireland of any European destination to New York last year.

It also said that the two Fitzpatrick Hotels in Manhattan reported 90% occupancy in November and December, with 60% of their guests coming from Ireland.

John Donoghue of NYC & Company said: “Whilst the Irish figures to New York City for 2009 are not yet available, I am confident that the 2009 figures will be strong.”

In 2008 353,000 Irish people visited New York City, which was up 22% on the previous year and it is expected the number will be up again for 2009. Official figures will not be released until March.

Overall more than 45 million people visited New York last year, making it the most popular tourist destination in the US for the first time since 1990.

The 45.25 million tourists exceeded projections, declining just 3.9% from 2008 versus the 10% expected.

A 3.2% increase in tourism, with an estimated 46.7 million visitors, is expected in 2010. Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg said: “Over the past eight years, our efforts to make New York City an even more exciting place to visit have helped produce a record number of tourists and create thousands of jobs.

“While tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country, surpassing Orlando, and our leisure and hospitality jobs rose” He added that despite the gains many New York hotels, restaurants, attractions and shops are still struggling as a result of the downturn.