NYC Breaks Tourism Record For 8th Straight Year, City Says

NEW YORK, NY — New York City set a new record for tourism in 2017, marking the eighth consecutive year of growth, city officials announced Tuesday.

An estimated 62.8 million tourists visited New York City in 2017, an increase of 2.3 million compared to 2016, the city's tourism agency NYC & Company announced. Of those tourists, 49.7 million were domestic visitors and 13.1 million were international visitors — both record numbers — city officials said.

City officials touted 2017's record tourism numbers as especially impressive due to policies coming from the federal government that have restricted travel to the United States.

"We’re keeping our door to the world open," Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. "Even with all the headwinds from the White House, we attracted a record number of visitors to our city. That’s a testament to the strength of our tourism sector and the values of our city."

Tourist officials touted two campaigns — “New York City – Welcoming the World” and “True York City” — as successful in drawing international tourists to the city despite travel restrictions. Overall tourism grew by 3.8 percent with domestic tourist growing at a rate of 3.9 percent and international tourism growing at a rate of 3.4 percent, city officials said.

As tourism numbers grow in New York City, so too does demand for hotel rooms. The city added 4,000 rooms to the city's inventory last year, pushing the total number of hotel rooms up to 116,500. Business travelers accounted for 13 million trips to the city.

Officials predicted Tuesday that 2018 will see another year of tourism growth. Tourism should grow by an addition 3.7 percent with a predicted 65.1 million visitors, officials said.

"The world clearly loves New York, and we love our tourists - for the economic boost that comes with their visits as well as the excitement and energy that they bring to our streets. Our world-renowned attractions include the Theater District, Times Square and the High Line - and that's just in my Council district alone. I thank everyone for coming here and everyone who works to make those visitors feel at home in the Big Apple," Council Speaker Corey Johnson said in a statement.

Photo by Patch