NY's Bloomberg: Tourism may wane during financial crisis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg cautioned that the $55 billion boost to the city's economy contributed by Times Square may be at risk if the financial crisis hurts tourism.

The $55 billion estimate counts all Broadway entertainment ticket sales, restaurant checks and hotel bills paid by tourists who come to Manhattan's neon-lit center to see the shows, according to the Theater Development Fund.

That is approximately one-eighth of the gross city product, the broadest measure of all goods and services in New York City.

Wall Street is still the city's most important source of tax dollars, contributing 23 percent of all collections.

The dollar's weakness in recent years, however, has inspired many more tourists from around the world to visit and shop, creating entry-level jobs for New Yorkers, Bloomberg said.

"As we go through tough economic times, this is the kind of thing we really need more than ever before. It is tourism that has carried our city," he told a news conference on Thursday.

The conference, organized by the Theater Development Fund, unveiled a big new booth where it will sell discounted tickets for shows, musicals and dance performances.

Tim Tompkins, the president of the Times Square Alliance, said that Broadway as a whole contributes about $5 billion to the city economy.

Last year, New York City drew 8.76 million visitors from overseas, mainly from the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany, according to NYC & Company, Inc, the city's official marketing arm. This was up sharply from 1998's total of 6 million.

International visitors are particularly desirable because they often spend more than domestic tourists, the mayor said. About 37 million domestic visitors made the trip to New York City last year, a gain of 10 million from 1998.