Skift Take
As global tourism continues to grow, New York City benefits from its position as a gateway to the U.S. as well as a cultural icon that tops many travelers' bucket lists.
A record 56.4 million visitors arrived in New York City in 2014, the city’s Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC & Company CEO Fred Dixon announced today. Visitation surpasses the previous record of 54.3 million visitors set in 2013.
Visitors generated a record $61.3 billion in overall economic impact and supported more than 359,000 tourism-related jobs, the report says.
The majority of arrivals, 78 percent or 44.2 million travelers, came from domestic U.S. locations while 22 percent, or 12.2 million visitors, came from abroad. The city’s top international markets remain the UK, Canada, Brazil, France, China, Australia, and Germany.
City officials estimate that more than 740,000 visitors came from China in 2014, nearly five times as many as 2009.
Quelling concerns about the rise of Airbnb and its impact on the city’s hotel sector, officials report hotels sold an all-time high of 32.4 million room mights. Hotels are also continuing to be built: The city reached 102,000 available hotel rooms in 2014, a 40 percent expansion since 2006.
NYC & Company, the organization charged with marketing travel to the city, had a busy year.
Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Fred Dixon as the new CEO in March following the departure of previous CEO George Fertitta. The organization then launched a new campaign that encouraged locals to explore their own city and named Taylor Swift as the city’s new global ambassador in October.
The Daily Newsletter
Our daily coverage of the global travel industry. Written by editors and analysts from across Skift’s brands.
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Tags: nyc, skiftstats, tourism
Photo credit: New York City t-shirts on sale. Dov Harrington / Flickr