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Irish shoppers still splurging in NYC

By
KENNETH HAYNES,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Monday, January 11, 2010, 3:19 PM
Updated Monday, January 11, 2010, 3:30 PM

 

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Irish accents were popular in Macys in 2009

Though the country was rocked by recession and inundated by floods, Irish shoppers still winged their way to New York City to splash the cash in 2009.

Whether it was the magical savings to be made at Macys, of the tantalizing deals to be found in Tiffany’s, energized shoppers hit the Big Apple from the Emerald Isle with a vengeance last year.

NYC & Company, the Dublin based company that promotes New York Tourisn, reported that their biggest tour operators, Sunway and Tour America, had more business in 2009 than in 2008.

"Whilst the Irish figures to New York City for 2009 are not yet available, I am confident that the 2009 figures will be strong,” said John Donoghue of NYC & Company.

Though the 2009 figures will not be released until March, it is expected that the number of Irish tourists who visited New York will be well up on the 353,000 that came to the city in 2008.

November and December were high travel months for Irish shoppers. The two Fitzpatrick hotels in Manhattan reported that 60 per cent of those who stayed there during this period were from the Emerald Isle.

Newly inaugurated New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said 45 million tourists came to the city in 2008 because of the huge commitment that was made to make it a must-visit location.

“Over the past eight years, our efforts to make New York City an even more exciting place to visit have helped produce a record number of tourists and create thousands of jobs,” said Bloomberg.

"While tourism declined significantly in cities across the country, we fared far better than most. In fact, for the first time in 20 years, we were the most popular tourism destination in the country, surpassing Orlando, and our leisure and hospitality jobs rose."

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6 Comments

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Posted by MICKDEDRUNK on Jan 17, 2010, 11:45 PM EST
Gearoid and Helen, wake up. Paddy De Greasy Pawed (sometimes inbred) Mucksavage Retailer has been screwing the Irish shopper for decades, just like their greasy pawed pals in the bar/rest. business. Items in the US are one third of the price they are in Ireland. The girls can have a 5 day break and get the years shopping done while still saving money. Paddy De Gobshite "businessman" has to realize that the Irish consumer has finally realized they were being screwed. Screw "patriotism'.
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Posted by jimmy12003 on Jan 15, 2010, 03:56 PM EST
patriotism! gearoid, its obvious you dont live in ireland! just look up the price of any regular item of clothes you would buy, and compare it with a shop here in ireland, about one third of the price! as for patriotism! how much are you willing to pay for some items when you can have a holiday in new york and do the same shopping for the same price!
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Posted by aaaaaaaaa on Jan 13, 2010, 07:20 PM EST
And here I thought they all came to NYC to find Gabriel Byrne!
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Posted by plasticpaddy on Jan 13, 2010, 04:05 PM EST
Jump off your high horse Gearoid. They're just doing a bit of shopping!
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Posted by Gearoid on Jan 13, 2010, 01:20 PM EST
So much for Irish Patriotism!! .....rats jumping off a sinking ship comes to mind. You would think these well heeled individuals would lose their ostrich mentality and spend their cash where it's really needed.
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Posted by Helen Ferone on Jan 13, 2010, 10:05 AM EST
How much did they save? The dollar takes a beating againt the euro, the plane fare over the holidays, a place to stay, and shipping the merchandise back to Ireland unless its all small and you can pack it in your suitcase. You've got to be kidding me when they think they saved something.
 


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