According to data reviewed by industry experts and post offices, Big Apple tourism is at risk of tanking as travelers surprise the stock market and plagued by rising geopolitical tensions.
Hospitality executives say it’s too early to make a call, but it’s increasingly dominant as hotel bookings have declined recently, with foot traffic and ticket sales falling to major attractions.
Just 22.5% of the city’s hotel rooms were booked as of April 7, according to industry data tracker Costar. This is a whopping 11.5% decrease from when 25.4% of rooms were booked at the same time a year ago.
According to Jan Frietag, national director of hospitality at Costar, if consumer mood improves, travelers could still book close to the date. Still, he said the data shows how skittish travelers have become recently.
“We’re not ready to call it a long recession,” Freitag told the Post. But New York City “maybe we haven’t seen this kind of slowdown since 2020.”
According to data, hotel bookings in New York City have fallen 20.6%, 19% and 19% respectively.
Big Apple Tourism Board NYC Tourism + Conventions – expects the city to ultimately shake up a COVID hangover and surpass the 66.6 million visitors seduced in 2019. The city estimates that 12.9 million international travelers have now come to the Big Apple in 2024, which is 135 million in 2019.
“We are committed to adapting to the ever-evolving landscape while continuing NYC around the world,” said Julie Coker, president and CEO of the company. NYC Tourism + Conventions.
Nevertheless, trade wars and hassle at the US border for international travelers are beginning to fall victim to industry players.
Mike Burke, chief operating officer of Statues City Cruises, owned by Hornbrawer, said ticket sales have fallen from 5% to 5% on Liberty statues and Ellis Island statues.
“Competitions and other attractions are all declining,” Burke said, adding that fellow tourism industry colleagues regularly compare notes. “We share trends, but they all head the same way.”
Times Square pedestrians rose just 1.8% between April 16th this year and a year ago. According to the Times Square Alliance, this is quite short of the 7.3% jump we saw last year in the same period.
At Park Lane New York, which offers spectacular views of Central Park South, front office executives are worried about attracting visitors from the UK, Germany, Mexico and Brazil this summer, Niles Harris managing director said.
“We’re starting to see pullbacks from those countries,” Harris told the Post. “It’s enough to get our attention.”
Park Lane also gets more questions on the phone from guests looking for deals and promotions.
“People are more valuable than a year ago,” Harris said. “They want a better deal.”
Last year, New York Metro Area Airport was “the busiest year ever” in 2024, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Hotel occupancy in New York City was 84.3% in 2024, according to COSTAR data.
But business has been in and out of positive territory recently. This month, occupancy rate was 83.8% as of April 12th, an increase of 0.3% from last year. In March, it rose 2.3% and 1.3% in January and February, followed by a 1.1% decline.
“We see the pace of bookings from Europe, Canada and Asia slowing down,” said the hotelier who doesn’t want to be identified, “NYC is a city of the world. The international segment is a very important business.”
There is hardly any single person in New York City.
The number of plane arrivals to the US by plane fell nearly 10% in March, according to International Trade Bureau data.
According to an OAG Aviation Worldwide report, flight bookings in Canada fell 70% until September compared to the same period last year.
“The announcement of US tariffs and a more positive attitude towards historic allies have hurt global views about the US,” Goldman Sachs economists Joseph Briggs and Megan Peters said in a March 31 report.
