Jersey Yankee
03-03-06, 06:45 AM
A Japanese fan on another board gave this to me:
http://www.cgj.org/en/c/vol_11-6/matsui_ny.jpg
A "Big Apple" Day for All-Star Yankee Outfielder Hideki Matsui (http://www.cgj.org/en/c/vol_11-6/title_04.html)
March 3 may be Girls Day in Japan, but thanks to a special proclamation by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it is now officially "Hideki Matsui Day" in New York City. Hideki was also appointed NYC Tourism Ambassador to Japan by New York City & Company, the city's non-profit tourism marketing organization, and was presented with a crystal Steuben apple as a gift during a press conference held in Tampa, Florida, at Legends Field, the New York Yankees spring training camp.
While Japanese tourists remain the third-largest group of foreign travelers to New York, behind only the United Kingdom and Canada, the city lost a huge number of Japanese tourists after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. During its peak in 1999, 425,000 Japanese tourists visited New York. The attacks, coupled with the economic downturn in Japan, reduced this number to 297,000 in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Spending by Japanese tourists also dropped. In 1999, Japanese tourists spent about $466 million in New York, while in 2002, that amount fell by about one half.
http://www.cgj.org/en/c/vol_11-6/matsui_ny.jpg
A "Big Apple" Day for All-Star Yankee Outfielder Hideki Matsui (http://www.cgj.org/en/c/vol_11-6/title_04.html)
March 3 may be Girls Day in Japan, but thanks to a special proclamation by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it is now officially "Hideki Matsui Day" in New York City. Hideki was also appointed NYC Tourism Ambassador to Japan by New York City & Company, the city's non-profit tourism marketing organization, and was presented with a crystal Steuben apple as a gift during a press conference held in Tampa, Florida, at Legends Field, the New York Yankees spring training camp.
While Japanese tourists remain the third-largest group of foreign travelers to New York, behind only the United Kingdom and Canada, the city lost a huge number of Japanese tourists after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. During its peak in 1999, 425,000 Japanese tourists visited New York. The attacks, coupled with the economic downturn in Japan, reduced this number to 297,000 in 2002, the last year for which figures are available. Spending by Japanese tourists also dropped. In 1999, Japanese tourists spent about $466 million in New York, while in 2002, that amount fell by about one half.