Who Is Visiting the Big Apple?

New York City welcomed over 65 million tourists last year, rising by nearly four percent year-over-year. City officials expect tourism to grow past 67 million tourists this year, in part bolstered by big events like World Pride which took place throughout the month of June to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall.

According to figures from NYC & Company, about 1.3 million tourists from the United Kingdom visited New York in 2018. Despite President Trump’s trade war, Chinese tourism to New York increased last year reaching 1.1 million tourists. The United States' northern neighbor was in the top three countries for tourists as well. Overall, both domestic and international tourists spent $44 billion during their stay in New York, bolstering tax revenue and providing business for the retail, restaurant, entertainment, and hotel industries.

While the tourism sector is posting record-breaking numbers year after year, getting tourists into New York was not always as easy. New York’s former Mayor Michael Bloomberg vested control from the hotel and restaurant industries in 2007, handing over the job of promoting the city to tourists to NYC & Company. Part of the growth in tourism has come from partnering with corporations, like MasterCard, which help market and promote deals to potential visitors.