Orlando Refutes New York City’s Claim of Tourist Crown CheapOair Staff December 22, 2011 general Orlando is also claiming the tourist title for 2011 Earlier this week, New York City celebrated hitting the 50 million visitor mark in grand fashion, showering one lucky British couple with thousands of dollars worth of gifts to mark the occasion. During a press conference, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared his city the number one tourist destination in the country. But not everyone agrees with that assentation. According to a report in USA Today, officials in Orlando claimed to hit the 50 million mark last month and took offense to Mr. Bloomberg’s recent comments. Meanwhile, the tourism folks in NYC maintain that Orlando’s count is inflated because it includes nearby Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties. While the two will likely tussle over tourism for years to come, there is one area where New York is the clear winner: foreign visits. Nearly 10 million foreign visitors arrived on flights to New York City in 2011, compared to just 4 million for Orlando.