NYC 2017 Tourism: Better than Expected
3/29/18
A little over a year ago in this column, we wrote about the White House’s proposed travel ban, and the possible effects it could have on Visit USA tourism. The concern was that foreign visitors would feel unwelcome in the United States—and NYC—and shift their travel budgets to other destinations.
And while international visitation numbers for the U.S. weren’t great in 2017, there was one bright spot. We’re happy to report that, through NYC & Company’s efforts to double-down on its “All Are Welcome” message, visitation to New York City increased to 62.8M last year, a 3.8% improvement over 2016.
According to NYC & Company’s Annual Summary, domestic travel increased from 47.8M to 48.7M, a 3.9% gain over 2016. But the real surprise is that after a very rocky start to the year, international travel ultimately passed the 13 million mark—a 3.4% increase—driven by solid regional growth from Asia and South America, together with a turnaround from Canada.
Despite this good news, NYC & Company does warn that visitation from key markets like the U.K., Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and the Middle East were down in 2017, due to a number of factors, including exchange rates and fears over unwelcoming travel policies.
What does all this mean for 2018? A lot depends on the global economy and U.S. travel policies, but NYC & Company is predicting 65.1M visitors (+3.7% year over year), as domestic visitation breaks the 50M mark for the first time, fueled by high consumer confidence levels, low unemployment, and rising wages. International visitation is expected to rise as well, with growth outpacing domestic increases for the first time since 2013.
So while the travel panic that started 2017 has subsided—at least in New York City—we must continue to promote the idea that the city and Broadway are open to everyone. Because who knows what the next challenge may be?
For more information on the Shubert Organization, visit www.shubert.nyc.
And while international visitation numbers for the U.S. weren’t great in 2017, there was one bright spot. We’re happy to report that, through NYC & Company’s efforts to double-down on its “All Are Welcome” message, visitation to New York City increased to 62.8M last year, a 3.8% improvement over 2016.
According to NYC & Company’s Annual Summary, domestic travel increased from 47.8M to 48.7M, a 3.9% gain over 2016. But the real surprise is that after a very rocky start to the year, international travel ultimately passed the 13 million mark—a 3.4% increase—driven by solid regional growth from Asia and South America, together with a turnaround from Canada.
Despite this good news, NYC & Company does warn that visitation from key markets like the U.K., Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and the Middle East were down in 2017, due to a number of factors, including exchange rates and fears over unwelcoming travel policies.
What does all this mean for 2018? A lot depends on the global economy and U.S. travel policies, but NYC & Company is predicting 65.1M visitors (+3.7% year over year), as domestic visitation breaks the 50M mark for the first time, fueled by high consumer confidence levels, low unemployment, and rising wages. International visitation is expected to rise as well, with growth outpacing domestic increases for the first time since 2013.
So while the travel panic that started 2017 has subsided—at least in New York City—we must continue to promote the idea that the city and Broadway are open to everyone. Because who knows what the next challenge may be?
For more information on the Shubert Organization, visit www.shubert.nyc.
Originally published in Broadway Briefing.