Domestic Visitors Drive Post-Pandemic Rise in NY Tourism Economy

Gov. Kathy Hochul makes tourism and agricultural announcements during a tour of the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse on Aug. 28, 2024. Courtesy of Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul

New York tourism just hit another goalpost beyond recovering from COVID-19 pandemic lows.

During a stop at the New York State Fair in Syracuse on Aug. 28, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that 306 million people visited the state in 2023, the highest number recorded in the state’s history.

Tourists spent a record $88 billion on lodging, food, transportation, and more in the state, which produced a total economic impact of $137 billion, according to Hochul.

“New York State is synonymous with tourism,” Hochul said in a statement following the fair announcement, “As we approach the fall foliage and travel season, we are welcoming more visitors. ... their presence is supporting businesses and communities in every corner of the state.”

The post-COVID-19 pandemic rise of the state’s tourism economy—direct spending of visitors last year was one-fifth higher than in 2019—is driven by domestic visitors, according to annual tourism reports published by Empire State Development, the state’s economic development agency.

Domestic visitors spent $88 billion in New York last year, up from $78 billion in 2022 and $53 billion in 2019. However, international visitors’ spending remains below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels.

Overseas travelers, including visitors from Canada, spent more than $19 billion in 2019. In 2023, they spent more than $15 billion.

In the annual reports, visitors are defined as those who stay overnight or travel more than 50 miles to destinations in New York. Tourism Economics, an affiliate of the global advisory firm Oxford Economics, was hired by the state to prepare the reports.

More than one-third of the $88 billion direct tourism spending in the state last year was for lodging and one-quarter was for food, followed by retail, transportation, and recreation, which generated $49 billion in indirect economic impact and nearly $11 billion in state and local tax revenues.

Lodging includes hotels, short-term rentals, and second homes.

New York City accounts for the majority of the state’s tourism economy. Historically, three in five dollars left behind by tourists has been spent in the city, according to the reports.

Outside New York City and Long Island, Central New York saw the largest visitor spending among eight upstate tourism regions in 2023, followed by Hudson Valley, Finger Lakes, and Niagara.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Hudson Valley had seen the biggest visitor spending among upstate regions. Visitors spent nearly $2 billion more in the region than in Central New York in 2019, but the region’s post-COVID-19 pandemic rise is far less robust than that of the latter.

The Adirondacks and Catskills regions are most reliant on the tourism sector when it comes to job markets, according to the reports.