New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released the third tourism industry report after the epidemic on July 6. During the epidemic, New York’s tourism industry lost $10.9 billion in economic value, not fully recovering until 2023 – an increase of $792 million from 2019.
In 2023, the tourism industry’s economic value in New York State reached $34 billion, providing nearly 417,000 job opportunities. New York’s tourism economy ranks second in the United States, second only to California.
The report pointed out that although New York’s tourism popularity and economy have returned to pre-epidemic levels, the employment rate in the tourism industry is still 4.3% lower than before the epidemic. Visitors are more inclined to visit Niagara Falls in New York State than the Statue of Liberty.
Although economic activities related to the tourism industry have fully recovered, the tourism industry’s employment rates in each region of New York State remain lower than in 2019.
In 2020, the employment opportunities in the New York tourism industry decreased by nearly one-third, although the employment rate increased by 36.6% from 2020 to 2023, still 4.3% lower than before the epidemic.
The report found that in 2023, the tourism-related employment rate in the outdoor activity-rich Mohawk Valley decreased by 17%, followed by a 15.2% decrease in the northern region of New York State, an 11.8% decrease in the Finger Lakes region, while the employment rate in Long Island’s tourism industry decreased by only 1% compared to pre-epidemic levels in 2019.
However, the total wages in the tourism industry in 2023 amounted to $23.1 billion, an increase of 6.9% from 2019, with an average annual salary of $55,000.
The report also found a significant increase in the number of visitors from both New York and out-of-state tourists visiting New York State Parks. In 2020, the number of visitors to state parks increased by over 900,000 people, continuing to rise over the following three years. By 2023, the number of visitors had increased by 9.1% compared to 2020.
Among over 200 state parks and historical sites, Niagara Falls State Park was the most popular destination, with nearly 9.5 million visitors in 2023 alone; Long Island parks saw the largest increase in visitor numbers since 2019, with an increase of over 2 million visitors.
In comparison, visitor numbers at “National Parks,” including the Statue of Liberty, remained lower than in 2019.
In addition, agricultural tourism in New York has continued to thrive since 2007. By 2022, the agricultural tourism revenue from 947 farms in New York exceeded $55 million – despite the fact that the number of visitors to New York museums and Broadway theaters remains lower than before the epidemic.