The New York City Economy Tracker is a joint project between Investopedia and , using publicly available data to evaluate the economic hea♓lth of the city across a variety of metrics.

For the week of June 10, 2024, we’re looking how the number of annual visitors to New York City is still lagging behind pre-pandemic levels, but is expected to recover by 2025.

Nu🧜mber of Visitors to NYC Still Lagging but Expected To Recover by 2025

The number of annual visitors to New York City is not at pre-pandemic levels yet, but that’s now expected to change by 2025. As of 2023, the number of visitors to NYC is still below 2019 levels according to data from NYC Tourism and Conventions analyzed by the NY Office of State Comptroller (OSC). An estimated 62.2 million people visited NYC in 2023, down about 6.6% from the estimated 66.6 million in 2019. The majority of visitors to NYC are domestic travelers coming to explore the city for leisure, and this category is the closest to its pre-pandemic levels so far. About 41.6 million domestic leisure visitors came to NYC as of 2023, down approximately 3.3% from the 43 million in 2019.                         

The lag in visitors compared to pre-pandemic levels is mostly due to a decrease in international travelers, especially business travelers, according to data from a report on the NYC tourism industry from the NYS OSC. As of 2023, international leisure travelers to the city are still 15.8% belꦅow their 2019 levels, and international business travelers are about 33.3% down. 

However, travelers for both to🅰urism and business have been trending upwards since the COVID-19 pandemic disruption in 2020. Over 68 million visitors are expected to come to NYC in 2025, breaking a record set for 66.6 million visitors in 2019, according to data from the OSC.

Domestic Tourists Spent More Than Pre-Pandemic Levels, While Spending🌱 By International Tourists Declined

While the total number of visitors coming to NYC is not at pre-pandemicꦬ levels yet, the amount of money visitors are currently spending in the city has. Visitors spent an estimated $48 billion dollars in the city in 2023, a 1.3% increase fro⛄m the $47.4 spent four years ago, data from the NYS OSC show. However, the increase was because of a massive gain in domestic visitor spending that offset a corresponding major decline in international visitor spending. From 2019 to 2023, domestic visitor spending in NYC increased from $24.3 billion dollars to $29.6 billion dollars while international visitor expenditures declined from $23.1 to $18.4 billion dollars over the same time period.

Pre-pandemic, visitors from China spent the most money while exploring NYC. In 2019, tourists from China spent an estimated $3.32 billion dollars. However, China is no longer the top country on the list as of 2023. Tourists from the United 🐭Kingdom spent the most in NYC in 2023, at almost $2 billion dollars, according to data from the NYS OSC and Tourism Economics. France came in second, with tourists spending about $1.52 billion, and tourists from Australia, Canada, and Germany all spent around $1 billion dollars. Tourists from China spent an estimated average of $2,036 per visitor in 2023, which is substantially lower than the $3,000 per visitor in 2019.

According to the NYS OSC re🎉port, China’s fall from the top country by share of spending was in large part due to its COVID lockdown policies that severely limited international travel for longer than other countries.

NYC Still 🅺Has More Tourists Than Any Other US City, But Lags as Top International Tourist Destination

While data from the NYS OSC shows that New York City still welcomes more visitors overall compared to any other city in the U.S., NYC still la♏gs behind other major U.S. c💖ities with its decrease in international tourists since the pandemic.  

The total number of visitors in NYC in 2023 was over 12% lower than it was in 2019, according to OSC data. This isᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ still a much steeper decrease than other international tourism hotspots in the U.S. like the 7.4% gap in Las Vegas and about a 5% decline in Miami, LA, and Orlando over the same time period. In terms of international visitors, NYC is down over 20% in the four years from 2019 to 202♔0—higher than all the other cities mentioned, aside from the estimated 21.3% decline in Los Angeles. 

This decline in tourism, especially from overseas, can still be felt in some of the most popular tourist destinations in the city. According to data from the Times Square Alliance, pedestrian foot traffic in Times Square is still down about 11% from March 2019 to March 2024. The hotel occupancy rate for hotels in the neighborhood is also about 2% lower over the same period. Data from the Broadway League shows that theater show attendance in the Broadway district is still down almost 5% from May 2019 to May 2024. The continued g🦂rowth in both domestic and international tourists to reach and surpass pre-pandemic levels is vital to the economic well-being of these and other industries in the city.