The Big Apple still sees fewer tourists than before the coronavirus pandemic due to concerns about crime, according to a report released Thursday by the State Comptroller’s Office.
62.2 million people visited New York City last year, about 7% fewer than the 66.6 million tourists counted in 2019, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said.
“City and state leaders must focus on keeping New York an attractive and safe destination for individuals and families from around the world,” DiNapoli said in a statement accompanying the report.
DiNapoli’s analysis cited “high prices” as an issue that could contribute to a slower recovery for business, trade deals and more.
“Some visitors may be hesitant to return amid perceptions of crime and public safety in the city,” the report said, citing Gov. Cathy Hochul’s response to a series of highly publicized violent crimes. He pointed out that the National Guard has been deployed to the subway in response. He increased the police presence on the tracks.
The city has also seen several high-profile attacks on tourists recently, including one earlier this month when a Pennsylvania mother was stabbed in the chest in Times Square while chaperoning a female student on a school trip.
Two teenagers from Paraguay were stabbed for no apparent reason at Grand Central Station on Christmas Day, and in February a man from Brazil was stabbed in the neck with a knife at a subway station in Queens.
This lag is particularly noticeable in international tourism, which, although increasing from 2022, is still down 14% compared to 2019.
That’s a concern because foreigners spend significantly more than domestic tourists, with spending by international tourists still down 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels, according to the report.
In 2019, tourists from China accounted for the largest proportion of global tourists, but now visitors from the UK make up the largest proportion.
The report noted that China has had a long-term lockdown and travel ban in place to combat the coronavirus, which has affected the number of travelers from China.
Domestic travelers performed well, especially those traveling for leisure.
The number of Americans visiting New York in 2023 is expected to be 50.6 million, a 7% increase over 2022 but still 5% lower than 2019 visitor numbers.
“The return of conference-based business is also important to the city because conferences are the fastest-growing area for tourism to return among other large cities,” DiNapoli said.
Revenues and expenditures from tourism have increased overall, but this is largely due to higher hotel room rates and other costs, the auditor said.
Meanwhile, the number of workers in tourism-related sectors is still nearly 30,000 fewer than in 2019, with employment in restaurants, bars, hotels and entertainment venues down 10%.
Tourism-related retail employment remains down by 9,172 people (16.8%), and tourist destinations remain empty.
The slowdown in tourism stands in contrast to the full recovery of jobs Gotham lost during the coronavirus pandemic.
DiNapoli stressed that the situation has improved in recent years and the city has recovered nearly all the jobs lost during the pandemic and could recover next year.
“Tourism numbers in New York City are almost back to pre-pandemic levels,” DiNapoli said.
“While tourist spending and the tax revenue generated by the industry have already exceeded pre-pandemic levels, the industry’s recovery will not be complete until international and business travellers return fully and local jobs are fully restored.”
The city’s hotel occupancy rate was 81.6%, the highest among major markets in the country, but lower than 2019’s 89.6%.
According to the analysis, the immigration crisis will impact the hotel industry’s revenue, leading to a 47% increase in gross profit from 2022 to 2023.
Thousands of hotel rooms were taken off the market, and the city paid hoteliers an average of $156 per room to fill them.
These were mainly small and medium-sized hotels, often located in suburban boroughs.
Meanwhile, larger hotels, popular mainly with Manhattan’s tourist sector, averaged $301 per room.
The head of the New York City Hotel Association said the city’s tourism market still has a long way to go, given global competition.
“The hotel industry is not only below its 2019 numbers, which is the base year for most industries, but also behind competitors in other major international gateway cities such as London and Paris. Both markets exceeded their 2019 numbers in 2023,” said NYC Hotel Association CEO Vijay Dandapani.
He also said research shows New York City not only has “low perceived safety scores,” but also high costs.
Dandapani also said 16,000 hotel rooms have been taken off the market and 6,000 other hotel rooms have been closed to accommodate migrants during the pandemic.
He said city hotel occupancy rates would fall further without a significant reduction in marketable hotel rooms.
