NEW YORK—The flow of tourists into New York, which has helped fuel the city's growth and stabilize its economy during the recession, fell off in 2009, according to various indicators used by the city.

The decrease, which would be the industry's first annual decline in eight years, could be seen at the area's three major airports and at Pennsylvania Station, where traffic was down, even counting the mob that gathered for New Year's Eve festivities. It also has affected hotels and Broadway theaters, where more rooms and seats went unsold.

Officials have not released the city's official year-end figures, but as recently as last summer, they had been predicting a 4.5 percent decline in visitors. And in analyzing the data used by the city in calculating tourism numbers, all of the crucial indicators have declined.

At the area's three major airports, for example, the number of passengers was on pace to fall to roughly 100 million for the first time since 2005, preliminary data show.

Attendance at Broadway shows for the current season was down 5.2 percent, and the number of delegates attending trade shows at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center was off by about 30 percent through the first nine months of the year.

As recently as the summer of 2008, the hordes of tourists had been growing so steadily that Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg moved up a self-imposed deadline for his goal of having the city draw 50 million visitors a year. He originally said that total could be reached by 2015, then accelerated the plan to 2013.

But the recession has interrupted the mayor's vision, as businesses large and small have felt the effects of the tourism decline in 2009.

At Souvenirs on 5th, a gift shop on West 34th Street, Carlos Flores had time to rearrange merchandise just 12 hours before the crystal ball was to begin its descent toward the throng in Times Square. The store was fully stocked with all manner of T-shirts, key chains and other keepsakes expressing a global fondness for the city and, especially, its police force and firefighters. But few were selling—for the posted $15 or even at a haggler's discount.

“;My boss is really suffering,”; lamented Flores, who said he lived in Astoria, Queens, and had been selling souvenirs in the city for 10 years. “;We used to work here, like, 10 guys, now it's just three people. This time of year, we used to work 24/7. Now there's no people. They're not spending money.”;

City officials have been reluctant to cast the city's tourism numbers in a negative light, and loath to suggest that the mayor's goal might not be met.

Officials had been forecasting a decline in visitors to about 45 million for the year. That would represent a drop of about 2 million from the 47 million visitors the city estimated for 2008. But Christopher C. Heywood, a spokesman for NYC & Company, the city's tourism marketing arm, declined to say on Thursday whether the final estimate for 2009 would be that low.

Tourism officials said the drop-off had been less severe than they had feared after the financial crisis set off a global recession. The weakness of the American dollar, caused in part by the Federal Reserve's efforts to stimulate the economy with historically low interest rates, has helped lure budget travelers from overseas.

“;We're in a very different place than we were a year ago, but I wouldn't call it a turnaround yet,”; said Emily K. Rafferty, the president of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the chairwoman of NYC & Company. “;I'm certainly cautious about saying we've reached a turning point. What I am comfortable saying is that, if anything, things have stabilized to some extent.”;

In 2009, some measures of tourist activity dropped more sharply. Through the first 10 months of the year, the number of passengers using the region's airports had dropped by almost 6 percent, to 85.6 million, according to data from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

At that pace, the total for the year would be below 101 million for the first time in four years. The number of passengers peaked at 110 million in 2007.

The effect on the city's hotels has been even more pronounced. Through November, the occupancy rate for hotels in Manhattan was 80.6 percent, down from 85.5 percent in the same period of 2008, according to John A. Fox, a senior vice president at PKF Consulting in New York.

Many more rooms surely would have gone empty if hotels had not slashed their rates. The average rate paid for Manhattan hotel rooms in 2009 was $220, about $70 lower than the previous year, according to PKF.

“;New York City hotels have substantially recovered occupancy—but not room rates—from the very significant downturns that started in the fall of 2008,”; Fox said. In October and November, the city's hotels sold more rooms than they had in the same months of 2008, though still at significantly lower rates, he added.

“;I guess I would term it cautiously optimistic that we have hit bottom,”; Fox said.

Rafferty said the city's hotels, restaurants, theaters and attractions had worked together to lure visitors with discounts and packages. She said that while attendance at the Met had fallen, it had exceeded expectations in 2009, in part because about one-third of its visitors were from other countries. She said her counterparts at other museums in the city had reported similar results.

Rafferty also hinted that despite the recession, the final numbers recorded for 2009 might not be far below the 2008 total, or far off pace to reach the mayor's goal on schedule.

“;I would say we're pleased, thrilled by 2009,”; she said. “;We go into 2010 thinking it was a job well done.”;