NYC is officially the most-visited large city in the U.S.

If you had any doubts about New York City getting it’s groove back, it has! 

According to a new New York City Tourism + Conventions report, NYC is the most-visited large city in the U.S. and has welcomed roughly 64.3 million travelers this year, hitting 97% of its record-setting 2019 visitation level of nearly 67 million.

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Who traveled to NYC this year? Largely other Americans. The report says that NYC saw strong domestic travel (particularly from Philadelphia, D.C., Boston and Los Angeles) who mostly stayed overnight here. There was also an increase in travelers from Europe—the U.K. remains the largest source of international travelers at 1.1 million visitors in 2024. Following that was Canada with about 1 million visitors, then in decreasing order, France, Brazil, Italy, China, Germany, Mexico, Australia and Spain.

The city’s hotels saw a 4.1% increase year-over-year in hotel rooms sold (34.1 million room nights across 700 hotels) through November 2024. Unfortunately, this is still 6% below 2019 levels. Interestingly, the average rate this year for a hotel room was $303, which is 5% higher than in 2023. 

And as you might imagine, America’s most-visited city had the most flights at its airports than any other destination in the U.S. All air traffic at LaGuardia, JFK and Newark Airports exceeded pre-pandemic levels and this past October was the busiest October of all time with 12.4 million passengers.

All of this travel into NYC, of course, means the city’s showbiz is bustling. Broadway attendance is expected to reach approximately 12.5 million by the end of this year, which is up 9% from last year (but still down 8% from 2019). With that, Broadway grosses for 2024 were an estimated $1.5 billion, up 6% from 2023 and down 5% from 2019.

As you might imagine, this has a profound impact on the New York’s finances. Tourism in 2024 is estimated to have brought in about $79 billion across the city’s and state’s economies, including more than $51 billion in direct spending by travelers (not adjusted for inflation), the report says. Visitors spent more than $6.8 billion in tax revenue, which apparently helped save each NYC household around $2,000 this year. Now that, we love!

“New York City’s tourism sector continues to thrive, reflecting the resilience and global appeal of our city,” Julie Coker, President and CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions said in a statement. “In 2024, we saw growth in both visitation and spending, reaching an estimated total direct spend of more than $51 billion across the city and state. This recovery supported over 388,000 leisure and hospitality jobs, and generated more than $6.8 billion in tax revenue, benefiting local businesses. As we look ahead to 2025, we expect this momentum to continue, further strengthening NYC’s role in driving the state and local economy.” 

That’s right, in 2025, tourism and travel are expected to finally exceed pre-pandemic levels. Specifically, tourism demand is projected to grow with 67.1 million travelers, marking a full tourism recovery, the report says.

NYC’s future is looking brighter by the moment.