CITY'S $WEET NOV.

By RITA DELFINER


So many visitors are flocking to the city around Thanksgiving to gobble up the sights that this month is set to become the Big Apple's most popular November ever.

"Not only will the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons take new heights, but so will city tourism," said Cristyne Nicholas, president of NYC & Company, the city's tourism bureau.

Last year, 3.6 million visitors, mostly from around the nation, headed to the Big Apple during November, and this year's estimates predict "an additional 100,000," she said.

That's well above the 3.25 million guests who traveled here in November 2000, prior to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"It's not just Thanksgiving," Nicholas said. "Part of it is the record [New York City] Marathon turnout earlier this month. We had more runners in the marathon than ever before and more international runners."

Thanksgiving is the official kickoff for the holiday season — and Santa is definitely coming to town with the other tourists.

"Although a white Christmas is something many revelers are wishing for, we look at this holiday season as likely to be very green," Nicholas said.

It's estimated that tourists will shell out $4.5 billion on hospitality, entertainment and beverages during the months of November and December, she said.

As for Thanksgiving, "it's becoming more of an American tradition" to spend it in New York, Nicholas said.

"A lot of the hotels are doing a four-day package, including a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner," and "the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is attracting more people from out of town."

And, for shopaholics, there's "Black Friday," the uber-consumer marathon the day after Thanksgiving.

"Even by New York City standards, that has become huge, with many stores opening at 7 a.m.," Nicholas said.

The other event that has been pulling in visitors is the inflating of Macy's balloons around the Museum of Natural History the day before the parade.

"More and more people are using that as an opportunity to visit New York," Nicholas said. "The balloon inflation has become such an event that restaurants and bars on the Upper West Side have seen a hike in reservations."

Source: NY Post