In 2019, the New York tourism industry marked 10 consecutive years of growth, bringing in $ 7 billion to the state, creating 403,000 jobs. However, this trend has disappeared since March.
“Tourism has collapsed, the biggest events of the summer are canceled, the Broadway theater is dark, hotels and restaurants are either closed, or there are very few visitors,” said Scott M. Stringer, the city’s controller, commented.
According to Stringer’s office calculations, the city will lose at least $ 1.5 billion in taxable tourism revenue in 2021. Nationwide, the American Tourism Association predicts a 75% reduction in international travel spending by the end of this year, to $ 39 billion from $ 155 billion in 2019.
“The city’s tourism industry, especially international travel, will not go back to what it was before until everyone feels safe. Many shops and restaurants cannot survive if they lose money for too long. The government needs a huge support package to solve this problem“, said Mr. Stringer.
The impact of the epidemic on New York City is nowhere more obvious than Times Square, where businesses are largely dependent on tourists and office workers. The giant billboards are still lit, but many attractive tourist spots and shops and restaurants here have closed. Without the crowds of people walking around like everyday, bright lights reveal more and more empty spaces.
In fact, the Times Square Area created 180,000 jobs, provided 15% of the city’s economic output and generated $ 2.5 billion in taxable revenue. Before the pandemic, about 380,000 people walked through the area every day, that figure could reach 450,000 on peak days. During the blockade period, the number of people passing through here decreased by 90%, currently although the situation has improved somewhat, this number is still down 72% compared to the same period last year.
Of the 46 hotels in the area, at least 26 – including the 478-room Hilton Hotel in Times Square – have closed. 48 retailers out of a total of 151, 90 restaurants out of 162 also closed.
On Thursday last week, the bus stood at the corner of Street 48 and 7th Avenue trying to sell tickets. Mushah Saley, 47, who sells bus tickets to travel agents, laments: “Everything was terrible and slow.”
Before the pandemic, Saley said selling 2000-3000 tickets a week. Currently, he sells about 450 tickets, mainly tourists from places like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. “These businesses are mostly dependent on tourists. Not only are there no visitors from other countries, we also cannot welcome visitors from other states to visit.“
A historic highlight in this area is the Broadway theater. Each year, concerts here contribute more than $ 15 billion to the local economy and support 97,000 jobs. This year, after closing in March, the theater has no plans to reopen until 2021.
Monique Scott, a 30-year-old freelance artist, comes to New York with a dream of performing. Because of the epidemic, she now works part-time at a gym to make a living. “A lot of artists are in a situation like mine. We have to get rid of everything we ever tried, even indebted to, to get,” Scott said desperately.
“Before, I could not count the number of customers per day. Now, I only have 3 customers,” said Ossama Elsayed – 43, a shop owner. “I don’t make any money, I have 3 kids to take care of and my wife doesn’t have a job.“