A not very comforting figure for a city among the most popular destinations in the world and which puts further pressure on its economic recovery.
The tourism sector, in fact, is one of the fundamental pillars of the New York economy. With over 66 and a half million tourists in 2019 it generated revenues of 70 billion dollars and created 400,000 jobs. If there hadn't been the pandemic, an estimate by NYC & Co in 2018 predicted almost 69 million visitors in 2020 and over 71 million in 2021.Currently, as the report reads, tourist attendances have dropped by 66% compared to last year.
The collapse of tourism in New York, according to the New York Times, is the reason why the city's economy has been hit harder than others in the United States. Without a significant presence of tourists, hundreds of restaurants and hotels have been forced to close and now New York finds itself with an unemployment rate of over 14%, more than double the national average. A key role in the recovery of tourism, as indicated by Fred Dixon, CEO of NYC & Co, will be the distribution of the vaccine. "It will be a very slow recovery - he explained -. With a mass distribution plan in 2021, the forecasts for the resumption of travel at national level indicate an increase in the number of visitors during next summer". He also added that it is necessary to make the abolition of travel restrictions. As for the international market, it will take longer.
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