BP MARKOWITZ HAILS LONELY PLANET FOR NAMING BROOKLYN TOP WORLD TOURIST DESTINATION

Leading travel guide calls borough “hippest part of New York City,”
cites culinary scene, culture, character, Coney as proof.

Lonely Planet, the world’s largest independent travel publisher, confirmed Brooklyn’s rise to the upper echelons of global tourist destinations when its renowned globetrotting staffers named the borough to its recently released “Go List” of picks for the top 10 hottest travel destinations for 2007. The list singles out Brooklyn in its U.S.A. entry as the new kid on the block alongside veteran locations Hawaii and New Orleans, citing Brooklyn’s “hot art and restaurant scenes, still with neighborhood intimacy” as especially enticing.

The staff’s “Go List” was released in conjunction with Lonely Planet’s BLUELIST: The Best in Travel 2007, its second annual guide to cutting-edge destinations, which also includes a two-page entry on Brooklyn, in addition to entries about Finland, San Sebastian, Spain, Northeast India, and others. The entry calls Brooklyn “the hippest part of New York City” and says “Brooklyn’s booming,” and “Any New Yorker worth their street cred knows the new downtown lies just across the East River…the USA’s biggest city-within-a-city.”

Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, who opened the Brooklyn Tourism and Visitors Center in 2004, advocated for the new Brooklyn Cruise Terminal to open in Red Hook, helped lead the revitalization of Coney Island, and pitched Brooklyn to tourism professionals at the recent World Travel Market conference in London, hailed the prestigious recognition. “I commend Lonely Planet for recognizing what Brooklynites have always known: our borough is not just the best place to live, work, and raise a family—it’s also a world-class place to visit,” said Borough President Markowitz. “It gives me great pride to know that word is spreading that you can see the world, and stay in Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn’s vibrant cultural and culinary character earned it a coveted spot in the guidebook, which highlights the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), Prospect Park, Williamsburg nightlife, the attractions of Coney Island, and numerous special events.

“Of all the boroughs, none has exploded in popularity like Brooklyn," said Brice Gosnell, Lonely Planet’s Regional Publisher, Americas. "Brooklyn is the new downtown—with urban hipsters, diverse communities still intact, its own parades and festivals, and its own unique blend of small businesses and restaurants that make it must-see for any visit to New York."  

Many travel experts share Gosnell’s view. In 2006 alone, Brooklyn was featured in Condé Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, The New York Times “Escapes” section, airline in-flight magazines, an Associated Press travel feature, and several foreign travel magazines.

In 2007, visitors to Brooklyn can look forward to exciting events as diverse as Brooklynites themselves, including: BAM’s Brooklyn Next, a festival of emerging musicians (Feb. 16-17, 23-24); the fourth annual Dine In Brooklyn restaurant week, featuring nearly 200 diverse and world-class restaurants (March 19-30); the grand opening of the Brooklyn Museum’s groundbreaking new Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art (March 23); the Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Sakura Matsuri Cherry Blossom Festival (April); the Brooklyn Designs exhibition (May 11-13); the second annual Sundance Institute at BAM film festival (May 31-June 10); the annual Coney Island Mermaid Parade and Brooklyn International Film Festival (June); the West Indian American Day Carnival and Parade (Labor Day); the nationally acclaimed Brooklyn Book Festival and Atlantic Antic street fair (September); and BAM’s Next Wave Festival (fall).

The Brooklyn Tourism website features information on lodging, restaurants, events, transportation, and more, at www.visitbrooklyn.org