New York Tourism Statistics

New York, known as “The City That Never Sleeps” and “The Big Apple,” continuously draws millions of visitors annually with its vibrant culture, historic landmarks, and bustling city life.

New York City attracts approximately 60 million tourists annually, excluding the year influenced by the pandemic.

In 2024, the city welcomed 64.5 million total visitors, with 12.9 million coming from other countries and 51.6 million from within the United States.

• Before the pandemic, international visitor numbers were higher. The city had 13.6 million international visitors in 2018 and 13.5 million in 2019.
• However, as the global pandemic took hold in 2020, New York witnessed a sharp decline to 2.4 million international visitors.
• International visitor numbers started to rise again in 2021, reaching 2.7 million, jumping to 9.4 million in 2022, and climbing further to 11.6 million in 2023¹.
• International visitor arrivals reached 12.9 million in 2024, up 11.2% from 2023 yet still 4.4% below 2019.

Visitors generated over $94 billion for New York’s economy in 2024.

• In 2019, visitors spent $73.6 billion. However, with fewer visitors in 2020, this figure dropped to $33.9 billion.
• An increase was seen in 2021, with visitors contributing over $52 billion to the city’s economy despite relatively lower visitor numbers.
• The trend of recovery continued in the following years, with the economic impact of visitors growing to $78.7 billion in 2022 but decreasing slightly to $88.1 billion in 2023².
• Visitors spent $94.0 billion in 2024, up 6.7% from 2023 and 27.7% above the 2019 figure.

• In 2024, the United Kingdom remained the primary source of international visitors to New York, with over 1.06 million British travellers, followed closely by Canada (983,000), France (788,000), Italy (706,000), and Brazil (686,000).

• The best time to visit New York for good weather is May to June and September to October. During these months, the weather is stable and warm with little rain.
• However, the best time to visit New York for affordability is from early January to early March. This period offers the best combinations of low prices on flights, hotels, and Broadway shows.

• In Resonance Consultancy’s authoritative “World’s Best Cities” 2025 index, New York City was ranked #2 in the world (trailing only London).
• NYC also topped the “America’s Best Cities” rankings for 2024 and 2025 (Ranked #1 in the U.S. for the 9th year in a row)⁴.
• Read more about World Tourism Rankings

• New York City attracted 62.2 million visitors in 2023. Of these, 50.4 million were leisure visitors, coming for attractions, culture, and entertainment. The remaining 11.8 million were business travellers, attending conferences, meetings, and other work events, showcasing New York’s role as a key business centre.