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Visitors to New York City spent $2.4 billion in 1985, with the city's 953 conventions bringing in $964 million. A surplus of hotel rooms may lower occupancy rates this year, but with the added business brought in by the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center tourism is expected to hold steady in 1986.
Of the 17 million visitors who stayed in New York City hotels last year, more than four million attended conventions or trade shows. That is up from three million in 1975. Though convention attendance jumped only 0.6% in 1985, it is part of a steady 10-year increase, says Charles Gillett, president of the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The only city that traditionally hosts more conventions than New York is Chicago. Mr. Gillett attributes that city's success to two factors. The first is McCormack Place, Chicago's 2.5 million-square-foot convention center which is the country's largest facility. The second factor is "perceived accessibility," with Chicago's central location making it seem like an easier city to reach.
"If delegates are coming from Omaha, they think Chicago is so much closer. But it's really only an hour closer than New York," Mr. Gillett says. Nevertheless, "Those perceptions are hard to change."
Still, no one's worrying about the future of New York's convention business. The Javits Center's nine months of operation should help make 1986 a banner year.
Air passenger traffic up
Though it may be some time before New York overtakes Chicago as the top convention destination, city business can count on significant convention spending this year.
Extensive air service is a factor in the city's tourism development. Traffic at the three metropolitan airports jumped 5.4% in 1985 to 78 million passengers, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Actually, all of that increase was registered at Newark International, where People Express has spurred deep fare-discounting and stimulated air travel into the region.
How do conventioneers spend their money? According to bureau statistics, 37.7 cents of every dollar goes for hotel rooms. Restaurants get 24.3 cents, retail stores get 14.8 cents and theaters, concert halls and...