City Woos International Tourists
New York, NY —
Security questions and visa problems are among the concerns city boosters will address when thousands of international travel agents and journalists gather this week for an annual convention.
The city last hosted the convention ten years ago. Then the goal was to convince international tourists that New York was safer and cleaner than its "crime and grime" reputation. Now, the challenge is to prove the city is safe from terrorism and that there are enough affordable hotels to stay at.
The chief of the city's tourism effort will highlight what she calls the "new New York" to the delegates. Christine Nicholas says that includes new hotels in Harlem, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, shopping in Queens, the new MOMA, and -- what she says is the fastest growing sector -- family friendly entertainment.
Nicholas says the city will also reach out to Chinese tour bookers to get more of that emerging market.
International tourism is rebounding, but it is still not at pre-9/11 levels. Last year, the city hosted about 5.3 million international tourists -- that's one-and-a-half million fewer people than in 2000.
