Big Apple approval for Travel Promotion Act

NYC & Company—New York City’s tourism, marketing and partnership organization - has applauded the U.S. Senate’s passage of the Travel Promotion Act (TPA), and its enactment by President Obama.
 
NYC & Company officials expect the Travel Promotion Act to have a significant impact on New York City, which led the country with more than 45 million visitors in 2009 and remains the number one port of entry for overseas visitors.
“Much credit should be given to Congress for passing this incredibly important legislation,” said NYC & Company ceo George Fertitta.  “The Travel Promotion Act will be a tremendous revenue and job creator, not only for New York City, but the country as a whole.  For too long the U.S. has lacked a unified voice for promoting itself around the world to potential visitors, however the TPA marks a new direction and recognizes the importance the travel and tourism industry plays in our economy.”

In January, NYC & Company projected a 3.2 percent increase in visitation for 2010 and announced that New York City remained on track to achieve its goal to attract 50 million visitors annually by 2012.  In addition, New York City was the most popular U.S. destination for international visitors in 2009 with 8.6 million tourists—twice as many as the nearest competitor, Los Angeles. These totals are expected to increase with the support of a national marketing program that will target international visitors—visitors who typically spend five times more than their domestic counterparts. 

www.nycgo.com