The number of tourists visiting New York City fell by nearly 4 percent last year. City officials say 45.2 million people visited the Big Apple last year, down 3.9 percent from 2008. Tourism officials say the decline was less than they had expected. Even with the drop in visitors, New York City was the nation's most visited city, beating out Orlando, Fla.

George Feritta is head of the city's tourism office, NYC and Company. "Everyone knows New York is more expensive to come to than many other cities, but the participation, meetings, and conventions is up about 15 percent," he says. "People would rather come to New York even though its more expensive to do so."

More than 45 million million people visited New York City last year. Officials are predicting a rebound of around 3 percent this year.