New York retains its power of attraction as a destination for the European public. And after two years of low profile on its source markets in Europe, the American metropolis is back with a marketing and communication campaign.
A return all the more necessary as New York will have to ignore – like other destinations in the world – the Asian and now Russian markets.
France, an essential market
Before the pandemic, New York received 13.5 to 13.6 million international tourists. Either 18% to 29% of the total number of visitors depending on the season. Of that number, the UK generated 1.27 million…
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New York retains its power of attraction as a destination for the European public. And after two years of low profile on its source markets in Europe, the American metropolis is back with a marketing and communication campaign.
A return all the more necessary as New York will have to ignore – like other destinations in the world – the Asian and now Russian markets.
France, an essential market
Before the pandemic, New York received 13.5 to 13.6 million international tourists. Either 18% to 29% of the total number of visitors depending on the season. Of this number, the United Kingdom generated 1.27 million travellers, followed by the France with 820,000 visitors and Germany (610,000). The French market collapsed in 2020 and 2021, dropping to 133,000 then 90,000 visitors last year.
« New York will always be resilient and will always come back in the race because of its spirit of reinvention. We are personally convinced of this, as are the authorities of our city. Because we all know that tourism is an important driver of our economy” , highlighted Fred Dixon, President of NYC & Company, the agency in charge of tourism for the metropolis. Some $30 million are thus injected for promotional campaigns on the most important markets such as France.
The forecasts are indeed very optimistic for the return of visitors from France. ” There is for example a formidable air offer from Paris and Nice with several dozen daily flights. And we offer new attractions, we have created tours outside of Manhattan to discover our five districts. There are also a host of new hotels« , ajoute Chris Heywood, Executive Vice President, Global Communications NYC & Company.
Selon Fred Dixon, the French market should recover 60% of its pre-crisis figures this year with some 515,000 visitors. Before flirting with 750,000 visitors in 2023.
International business travel still hesitant
A big unknown remains, however. That ofrapid return of business travelers. « It is certainly the market that will be the most difficult to win back“, readily admits Fred Dixon. Before the crisis, New York welcomed 6.2 million delegates to conventions, conferences and meetings. Admittedly, the city councilors of the largest city in the United States are seeing a resumption of meetings and conferences. But this is essentially a phenomenon confined to the market domestic.
Nevertheless, with a multitude of new hotels and the recent expansion of the Javits Centerthe convention and exhibition center of New York, the city hopes to quickly regain its privileged positioning on international MICE markets.
Hotel capacity is, in fact, on the rise again. ” We had a total of 123,000 rooms in the hotel business in 2019. This figure had fallen to 88,000 rooms in 2020 but we should cross the 120,000 mark again this year. With 12,000 more rooms planned over the next three years“, describes Chris Heywood.
In 2021/2022, the city has seen or will see the opening of 29 new establishments. We can mention pell-mell, the Marriott Renaissance Harlem, the Virgin Hotel, the Barrière Fouquet’s hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, the Aman New York or the Hard Rock Hotel. 54 other hotels are officially planned. Enough to stimulate the spirits to return to this exciting metropolis.
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