China Rises to Position of NYC’sNumber 2 International Source Market: During the first quarter of 2017, it had almost become written in stone that, for a variety of reasons—the most commonly mentioned one being a dislike of U.S. President Donald Trump—visitation to the United States from Mexico, Canada and overseas source markets would decline by at least single-digit percentages. Such was the case with New York City, the top international gateway for visitors to the U.S., with one widely reported study indicating that international visitation would likely be off by 300,000 vs. 2016.
Wrong. While the news did not receive the attention that did the projections of decline, there was actually an increase of more than 3 percent in international visitors in 2017 to the USA’s largest and business international gateway. Moreover, says NYC & Company, in its recently released 2017-2018 Summary, international visitation, is projected to enjoy another increase of more than 3 percent in 2018.
As Reported by NYC & Company, Highlights of 2017-2018 Summary:
- Despite strong political headwinds facing our industry at the start of 2017, New York City welcomed a record 62.8 million visitors last year. This marks the eighth consecutive year of visitation growth. Domestic travel increased by almost 2 million person trips, from 47.8 to 49.7 million, a 3.9 percent gain over 2016. Particularly strong performance in the overnight visitor market helped push these results up.
- International visitors lagged at the start of the year, but ultimately surpassed the 13 million mark—a 3.4 percent increase—driven by regional growth from Asia and South America, together with a turnaround from Canada. (It is important to note, however, that as forecast, several key markets like the UK, Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and the Middle East were down due to a variety of challenges including currency exchange rates and concerns about the welcoming nature of the U.S.)
- Forecast for 2018: The city should see another year of growth in 2018 as global economic conditions support increased domestic and international travel. The current forecast anticipates 65.1 million visitors (Up 3.7 percent year-on-year), as domestic visitation breaks the 50 million mark with 51.4 million visitors, and international visitation breaks another record with 13.7 million visitors. Domestic visitation is forecast to continue at an above 3 percent growth rate in 2018. High consumer confidence levels, low unemployment and rising wages are expected to increase domestic demand for travel to the City. International travel growth is expected to outpace domestic visitation growth if current global economic and policy conditions hold.
