Highest Number of Tourists Yet

New York City Just Saw Its Highest Number of Tourists Yet. Here's Why

Walter Bibikow/Getty Images

TALIA AVAKIAN 

New York City just hit another tourism record for the eighth year in a row, welcoming a whopping 62.8 million visitors last year, according to city officials.


The city saw an increase of 2.3 million visitors since 2016, NYC & Company representatives announced on Tuesday, despite concerns that restrictions like the travel ban would lead to a drop.

“Even with all the headwinds from the White House, we attracted a record number of visitors to our city; that’s a testament to the strength of our tourism sector and the values of our city," Mayor de Blasio said in the statement.

The city welcomed a total of 49.7 million domestic travelers and 13.1 million international travelers in 2017, both of which were all-time highs.

The boom in tourists was driven by a combination of factors, like the addition of 4,000 new rooms to the city’s hotel inventory last year alone, making NYC “the most active hotel development pipeline in the U.S.” according to NYC & Company representatives.

The company also established more partnerships with other city tourism boards in 2017 than any other year in its history, establishing new tourism programs with cities like Cape Town, Toronto, and Tokyo to showcase New York City’s popular attractions and appeal across the international destinations.

Several attention-grabbing attractions also came to NYC in 2017 that include National Geographic’s Encounter: Ocean Odyssey, the NFL Experience, Opry City Stage, the Spyscape spy museum, and Gulliver’s Gate, which is the largest interactive museum of miniatures in the world at 50,000-square-feet.

The NYC ferry system also launched in May of last year to provide quick access through the city’s waterways, making it all the more easier to visit these famed attractions.

As tourism continues to grow, NYC & Company representatives project an estimated 65.1 million visitors will head to New York City in 2018.