The city is bustling with tourists like never before. According to a statement from the Mayor’s office, New York City will have welcomed a record 60.3 million visitors by the end of this year, making 2016 a banner year for tourism in the Big Apple: for the first time ever, the total number of city visitors exceeded 60 million.
The new figure is 600,000 visitors higher than the original estimate for 2016, and 1.8 million visitors higher than the year-end count from last year. That makes this the “seventh consecutive year of travel and tourism growth for the city,” the statement says.
And while more tourists may mean more congested sidewalks, the Mayor’s Office is quick to point out that it also means more jobs: travel and tourism now sustain more than 375,000 jobs across the city, 15,000 of those being new this year.
“More tourism means we have more people investing in New York City and are able to create more sustainable jobs for more people,” said Mayor de Blasio. “New York is a culturally rich and diverse city, with so much to offer those who visit. I look forward to continue promoting this beautiful city and welcoming all those who visit in the future.”
And the number is expected to climb again in 2017. NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization for the five boroughs, predicts a total of 61.8 million visitors making their way through the city in the coming year: 48.7 million of those are expected to be domestic travelers, while 13.1 will be international visitors—both record highs, according to current estimates.
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