NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – After years of increasing visitor numbers, tourism in New York collapsed this year due to the restrictions in the coronavirus pandemic – and, according to a forecast, will not have fully recovered until 2024. After the US metropolis had set a record in 2019 with 66.6 million visitors for the tenth year in a row, the number for 2020 will probably be around 22.9 million visitors, the New York tourism authority NYC & Company announced in the night Tuesday with.
The number of visitors from the USA has decreased by around two thirds, the number of tourists from abroad by 80 percent. Not until 2024 does the authority, which itself had to temporarily release a large part of its employees, expect a new record with 69.2 million visitors. The tourism industry, which employed around 400,000 people before the outbreak of the pandemic, is an important economic sector in the metropolis.
New York had become one of the epicentres of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring and had imposed relatively severe restrictions on public life. Tourism had collapsed. In the meantime, many restrictions have been relaxed again, but numerous attractions such as the theaters on Broadway or the Metropolitan Opera have already announced that they will not reopen until 2021. In addition, far-reaching entry restrictions still apply to many countries – including Germany. / Cah / DP / fba
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