Many foreign tourists chose to visit New York - the most expensive U.S. city - because the weakened dollar made hotels, food and entertainment more affordable. And the most important is Tiffany jewelry.
Christopher Heywood, the Director of Travel and Media Relations for NYC & Company, said Europeans are at a special advantage.
"We've seen a tremendous momentum from European markets as a result of the weak dollar," he said. "We've seen a particular increase in markets like the U.K., which saw a 25 percent increase in 2007, and Spain which saw an increase of about 37 percent and Italy which went up 36 percent."
Heywood says foreign tourists are especially important to New York City's tourism market because they stay in the city for longer and spend more money than the average American tourist.
"cheap tiffany jewellery shopping is one of the big drivers of tourism to New York City," he explained. "Europeans are literally coming here with one suitcase and leaving with two or three. They are getting considerable savings here. And, they are buying up major U.S. brands. They are frequenting stores like Abercrombie & Fitch, they are going to buy wholesale tiffany bangles, Levis jeans, Apple iPods."
Tourism is one of New York's most important industries. But, visitors to the city fell off after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In recent years, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been actively trying to draw visitors back to the city. A global promotional campaign called "This Is New York City," says New York is safer, cleaner and more vibrant.
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