NYC Expects to Welcome 61 Million Tourists This Year in Major Rebound
Projections were shared at this year's Annual Tourism Seminar.
After being called a "ghost town" during the peak of the pandemic, New York City is officially coming back stronger, and the near future looks much brighter than before as visitors return to the Big Apple.
On Tuesday, City Guide's Annual Tourism Seminar hosted presenters and more than one hundred industry executives to exchange ideas and data about the city's status. Fred Dixon, President and CEO of New York & Company, shared insight about NYC's tourism, pointing out that domestic tourism has mostly recovered from pre-pandemic levels.
In 2022, NYC witnessed about 56 million tourists walking its streets and avenues. In 2023, the city is expecting a considerable increase in tourist numbers, with 61 million of them expected to visit the Big Apple. This is still below the record-setting 66.6 million visitors in 2019, but a major rebound from the past few years.
The predicted tourism spike can already be seen in Broadway, hotels, and attractions reports. According to the data, they all reported great sales numbers for the holiday season, and many presenters said that they either reached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels in December. Winter tourists can now get two-for-one deals on major attractions and Broadway shows, as well as hotel discounts.
Tourists will be pleased to know that crime levels are also down. Even though crime overall was up in 2022, the index crime for the fourth quarter was down by 1.5% when compared to Q4 of 2021.