50 Millionth Visitor Welcomed to New York City - DNAinfo.com

MIDTOWN — The 50.2 million tourists expected in the Big Apple by the end of 2011 will break the city's records for visitors in a single year, officials announced Tuesday.

To mark the miletsone, the mayor anointed newlyweds Craig Johnson, a carpenter, and Lucy Foulger, a stay-at-home mother of two, visiting from Lichfield, England, as the honorary 50 millionth visitors of the year.

"While playing host to the world isn't new for us, the number of visitors we're welcoming in recent years is news," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who announced the tally Tuesday in the middle of Times Square, with fanfare that would have made Willy Wonka —and Oprah — proud.

Bloomberg presented them with a “golden ticket" that came with enough loot to make Foulger’s jaw drop, including a $10,000 Amex gift card, thousands more to spend at local stores and restaurants, free tickets to a Broadway show and a performance by the Radio City Rockettes, and a $10,000 return visit to celebrate their one-year anniversary in 2012.