i came across this article today in the Associated Press about how the population around ground zero has increased over the years. they are also planning a campaign to restore tourism to the area by offering great deals at the surrounding hotels. the full article is below with the Associated Press reporting.
NEW YORK (AP) – Four months ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, New York City started a campaign Thursday to lure tourists to the area surrounding the former World Trade Center with hotel deals and discounts meant to showcase how lower Manhattan has rebuilt since the terror attacks.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Thursday said the social media and marketing campaign – to include restaurant promotions, merchant discounts and citywide advertisements – would celebrate the revival of the Manhattan neighborhood decimated in the attacks.
“A crucial part of the story of 9/11 is how lower Manhattan – an area many people said Osama bin Laden’s attack would turn into a ghost town – has come back remarkably in the last 10 years,” Bloomberg said at a news conference held on restaurant-lined Stone Street, which now attracts bustling crowds in the after-work hours.
In the years after the attacks, many people moved to the area to live, drawn there, in part, by government rent subsidies meant to revitalize the zone. The 2010 census found that the district including the neighborhood had grown more than any other in the state, said Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler, who represents the area.
A lucrative tourism industry has sprung up around ground zero – which is now top among many visitors’ lists of city must-sees. Around the massive construction site that marks the area where the twin towers once stood, vendors hawk glass figurines of the buildings and some salesmen offer picture books depicting the destruction of the attacks.
On Thursday, Bloomberg dismissed any notion that the marketing campaign means the city was looking to profit off the attacks.
“9/11 was one of the great tragedies that befell this country,” he said. “One of the things that we have to do is to tell everybody about what happened” and “get people to come here so that we can tell the story.”
Lower Manhattan has 17 hotels and about 5,000 hotel rooms, with 770 more rooms expected by the end of the year. NYC & Company, the city’s tourism arm, is offering visitors walking tour itineraries and information on museum exhibitions, outdoor festivals and landmarks in the area.
Joe Daniels, president of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, has said that after the memorial’s opening on the 10th anniversary of Sept 11., 2001, about 4 million to 5 million people are expected to visit the site in the following year. Access to the memorial plaza will be limited to a set number of people, but Bloomberg said that he doesn’t expect that to prevent people from visiting the site.
article by Samantha Gross Associated Press
Samantha Gross can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/samanthagross
WE ARE YOUR TRAVEL EXPERTS—-Call Five Star Travel & Cruises Today!!
636-978-5510 or Toll Free 1-888-665-7827 .
You can also contact us at info@5startravelandcruises.com or
Visit us online a http://www.5startravelandcruises.com Become a fan on facebook http://www.facebook.com/5startravelStL
Follow us on twitter @utravelwithus
5 Star Travel & Cruises' Blog 
Leave a Reply