Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Monday, July 9, 2001
Release # 242-01

Contact: Sunny Mindel / Lynn Rasic (212) 788-2958
  Nell Barrett (NYC&Company) (212) 484-1276
  Keith Yazmir (NYC&Company) (212) 484-1244


MAYOR GIULIANI AND TOURISM CHIEF CRISTYNE L. NICHOLAS
RECEIVE TRAVEL + LEISURE MAGAZINE'S WORLD BEST AWARD

NYC Voted Top City in U.S. and Canada for 1st Time in Award's History

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and NYC & Company President & CEO Cristyne L. Nicholas today received Travel + Leisure magazine's World's Best Award from Travel + Leisure Editor-in-Chief Nancy Novogrod at a ceremony at City Hall. New York City was voted the World's Best City in the U.S. and Canada for the first time in the six-year history of the award by tens of thousands of Travel + Leisure readers.

"Whether you visit the City for a day to take in a Yankees game or stay for a week to see Broadway shows and other attractions, New York City is a wonderful place to visit," Mayor Giuliani said. "I want to thank Travel + Leisure for this honor, as well as thank all New Yorkers who have helped make this City one of the world's cleanest, safest, most exciting and welcoming places to visit."

New York City won the World's Best City in the U.S. and Canada by placing strongly in categories including "Restaurants/Food" (#1 in world); "Shopping" (#2 in world); "Culture/Art" (#4 in world); and "Sites" (#8 in world).

The World's Best Award recipients are selected in an annual survey by the readers of American Express Publishing's Travel + Leisure, the country's leading travel magazine with a circulation of nearly 1 million. Categories include the world's best hotels, cities, islands, tour operators, airlines, car rental agencies, cruise lines and spas. The complete list of winners, tabulated in association with Yankelovich Partners, Inc., will appear in the magazine's August issue and will be available at www.travelandleisure.com.

New York City has consistently moved up in the rankings over the past six years, paralleling the increase in tourism during the same time period. Visitor volume to New York City has surged in recent years, up a record 28% (more than 8 million people) since 1995. In addition, the City's unprecedented drop in crime, other "quality of life" improvements and tourism product developments targeted toward families have resulted in a 27% jump in family travel since 1995. The most recent visitor numbers are from 1999 with the final 2000 numbers expected to be announced later this summer.

Projections for 2000 visitor volume total 38.4 million, a 5% jump over 1999, reflecting solid growth expectations in domestic and international visitor markets, including the continued strength of European travel and a strong Asian market. Visitor spending in 2000 is forecast at $16.7 billion, up 7% over 1999, with a total economic impact of $24 billion.

The 2001 visitor projections are for a conservative 2.6% increase in total visitors over 2000 projections, to 39.4 million, and a 3.1% increase in visitor spending over 2000 projections, to $17.1 billion, with a total economic impact of more than $25 billion.

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