New York City has recorded a record number of tourist arrivals for the eighth year running. According to the latest figures from the city’s tourism marketing company NYC & Co., a total of 62.8 million visitors were received in 2017. That is a whopping 2.3 million visitors more than in the previous year, an increase of 3.8 percent. This despite the fact that NYC & Co. had forecast a decline in visitor numbers – it would have been the first drop in visitors since 2009.
NYC & Co. never tired of saying that the rhetoric of US President Donald Trump was driving tourists away, especially the so-called “Muslim Ban” and other controversial government decisions. Obviously, it did not harm the demand for the “Big Apple”, as all-time records were set with both domestic and international visitors. Of the 62.8 million visitors, 49.7 million came from the USA and an incredible 13.1 million from international markets. The demand for hotel overnight stays grew generally by 4.5 percent to 36.4 million overnight stays sold.
That shouldn’t hide the fact that there are problems in the European source markets. According to Fred Dixon, President & CEO of NYC & Co., the decline in European visitors was (more than) offset by strong demand from Asia and Latin America. Dixon sees its own marketing campaigns under the titles “New York City – Welcoming the World” and “True York City”, which were specifically designed to present New York as a cosmopolitan destination and thus a contrast to rhetoric, as reasons for the success To manufacture trumps.
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