By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — It looks like New York City just showed Mickey Mouse who's boss.
Despite a nearly 4 percent drop in travel to the city between 2008 and 2009, the city that never sleeps overtook Orlando — the house of mouse — as the most popular city destination in the United States for 2009.
A total of 45 million visitors boosted the local economy in 2009, bringing in close to $28 billion to the city, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Monday.
"Last year, while tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared better than most," Bloomberg said in a statement.
The mayor's office explained that though travel to the city had decreased from 2008 to 2009, it was by a smaller percentage than expected.
New York City also knocked out Los Angeles as the most popular city favored by international visitors. The Big Apple attracted 8.6 million visitors from abroad, more than double the amount that visited Los Angeles.
While New Yorkers may complain about the tourists, visitors from abroad spent five times as much money in the city as their American counterparts.
Apart from the cash boon to the city in the middle of the recession, the visitor influx has brought employment numbers in the hospitality industry to pre-recession levels, Bloomberg said.
Bloomberg and Deputy Mayor for Economic Development Robert C. Lieber credited an aggressive tourism marketing campaign for the visitor numbers.
Plans to stretch the welcome mat into 2010 include weekend promotions, hotel specials and a new round of restaurant week highlighting the city's cuisine.
