New York state attracts more visitors

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo released Monday an end of the year progress report on the state's tourism initiatives, which shows the number of visitors to New York will increase by 8.8 million this year, a 4.2-percent rise over 2012. By the end of the year, the total number of visitors is projected to be 218.8 million, said the report. Since December 2012, Leisure & Hospitality employment is expected to add 24,800 jobs for a total of 818,700 jobs by the end of 2013, a 3.1 percent increase. In 2013, New York's hotels will sell 43 million rooms with associated 8.3 billion dollars hotel room revenue. As of October 2013, hotel occupancy rate in the state is 73.7 percent, which is almost 10 percent higher than the national rate. "This year my administration made it a priority to showcase the Empire State as the go-to destination for visitors from around the world," Cuomo said. "These figures underscore the significant role the tourism industry plays in New York's economy, and we will continue our work to make sure it thrives." This year, Cuomo kicked off the state's tourism efforts by hosting the Tourism Summit in Albany, where he announced 60 million dollars in tourism funding - the highest level of such funding in decades. The year 2013 also saw the launch of the Governor's Path Through History campaign, an initiative that supports tourism and economic development by highlighting significant historic sites, locations and events throughout New York. To promote tourism industry, the New York State also launched several advertising and marketing campaigns which featured 6,400 ad posters in platforms, trains, subways and buses, video advertising at more than 100 subway entrances in New York City.