Outside the JFK Terminal 4, the image of the iconic yellow-label taxis of New York City bustling with passengers is no longer there. The long queue of people inside and out of the queue for the car was also gone. There are only about a dozen free cars waiting for customers. As noted by the New York Times last Thursday, there were only 2 cars waiting at the station exit. Drivers have to wait hours in line before they can pick up a passenger.
“I don’t make money. There are no flights, no tourists and very few people on the road,” said Jean Metellus – a 71-year-old New York resident has been working as a taxi driver since 1988. “It doesn’t make any money, we still have to pay a lot of bills.“
The epidemic crisis and the global travel bans in place in March to slow the spread of the disease have left the US tourism industry nearly exhausted, blowing away the income of millions of people. The American Tourism Association predicts that the US will see international arrivals fall by nearly 80% this year, to just 18.6 million from 79 million last year.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66907018/shutterstock_1701722863.0.jpg "The tragedy in the 'sleepless city' of America 2")
Currently, citizens from many countries around the world including the UK, China, Brazil – the three most important tourist markets of New York’s tourism industry are prohibited from entering here.
At the state’s five regional airports in July, international arrivals fell 93% year-on-year. Particularly at Kennedy Airport, the number of international visitors fell 70% to 2,121 in July from 7,034 in January. In August, 400,000 fewer international arrivals arrived at Kennedy Airport, down 89% from 3.5 million people in the same period last year.
The city’s food and beverage sector has lost nearly 200,000 jobs since March. The rate of hotel rooms being filled was pushed down to 40% – only half of the level of more than 80% in August 2019. Demand for taxis and ride-hailing services decreased by 71% in June, although this number is slowly recovering. The desolate scenery everywhere in the city has shown the dire effects of not having tourists.
At Times Square, large billboards are still on, but more than half of the hotels in the area have closed and pedestrian numbers have decreased ever since. At Columbus Circle, idle tour drivers sit and look at their phones. The tour buses are empty, passing through cold deserted tourist spots.
Souvenir shops across Manhattan used to pick up to 30 customers per hour when they were empty. The suitcases and T-shirts with “I Love NY” printed on them were not bought.
“If there are no tourists, I don’t have a job. The souvenirs are for sale to tourists. No New Yorkers buy these items,” said Prince Mahamud, the street souvenir shop owner. Canal, Chinatown.