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New York City Launches Tourism Campaign In Mexico City

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – New York City's official tourism agency announced Tuesday the launch of a new tourism and promotional office in Mexico, the city's 10th largest international market.

Travel from Mexico to New York City has increased almost 100 percent over the last seven years, according to NYC & Co.

"Today, we're pleased to announce that we are investing millions of dollars in marketing and advertising assets to further develop travel from Mexico to New York City in the months and years ahead," NYC & Co. CEO George Fertitta said in a news release. "The result will be increased visitation from Mexico, more jobs for our local tourism industry and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact."

Earlier this week, Fertitta and other representatives from the tourism office met with the Mayor-elect of Mexico City to discuss future and deeper cooperation between the two cities.

Travel from Mexico to New York City grew from 192,000 visitors in 2005 to 376,000 visitors in 2011. Nearly 400,000 visitors are expected in New York from Mexico in 2012, according to the tourism agency.

"New York City and Mexico City are both world-class cities that share so much in common," Mayor Michael  Bloomberg said in a statement. "There could not be a better time for us to expand our investment in this key market, and invite more Mexican travelers to discover the unique energy, diversity and excitement of our City."

Tourism in New York City reached record levels in 2011, with an estimated $52 billion in total economic impact on the city, according to officials. The agency set a new tourism goal of $70 billion in economic impact and 55 million annual visitors by the year 2015.

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