New York City hosted a record number of visitors in 2010.

Mayor Bloomberg says 48.7 million people visited New York last year. That surpasses its 2008 record of 47 million.

“This past year was New York City’s most successful year for tourism ever, and we’re well on our way to achieving our goal of attracting 50 million visitors a year,” said Bloomberg. “The strength of our tourism industry is one of the reasons New York City was less impacted by the national recession than other cities, and it continues to be one of the reasons we’re growing faster than other cities today.”

The increase shows the city’s travel industry may be back on track. Tourism numbers slipped in 2009 for the first time since 2001, amid the recession.

New York saw a 6.8 percent increase in visitors over 2009.

That’s despite travel scares like the spread of bedbugs in the city. A volcano in Iceland grounded European air travel for several days.

Tourism is New York City’s fifth-largest industry. It contributed about $31 billion in direct spending into the economy last year.