TORONTO — Just how popular is New York City for holiday travel? Some 7 million visitors will make the Big Apple their getaway of choice for a season that’s barely more than five weeks long, spanning U.S. Thanksgiving through the New Year’s holidays.

Not only that, but the city’s destination marketing organization and convention and visitors bureau, New York City Tourism + Conventions, says NYC remains on track to welcome more than 63 million visitors this year.

That’s up considerably from the 56.7 million who travelled to the city in 2022. Visitation isn’t all the way back to pre-pandemic levels yet. The business travel market hasn’t fully recovered, for one. But there’s no doubt numbers will continue to trend up until the city reaches its 66 million annual visitors level from 2019.

Britt Hijkoop, VP Communications, International for New York City Tourism + Conventions

Meanwhile the Canadian market delivered more than 987,000 visitors to NYC in 2019, then 651,000 in 2022, and 864,000 (forecasted) in 2023. Official numbers for the year will be released in the coming weeks, says Britt Hijkoop, VP Communications, International for New York City Tourism + Conventions.

Canada is NYC’s second biggest international market, behind the UK. International visitors are key for New York City, accounting for just 20% of overall visitation, but bringing in 50% of spend and 50% of hotel nights.

Hijkoop connected with trade and consumer media yesterday at Eataly Toronto for an end-of-year meet up, and shared the city’s hotel news, an update about popular promotions including Broadway Week and more.

NEW HOTELS & PROMOTIONAL WEEKS FOR WINTER TRAVEL

Next year New York City’s winter travel discount weeks – Broadway Week, Must-See Week and Restaurant Week – will run Jan. 16 – Feb. 4, all part of NYC Winter Outing, first launched in 2019, says Hijkoop.

Not only that, but the ever-popular Hotel Week, offering 24% off select properties city-wide, will run Jan. 3 – Feb. 4, 2024. More than 160 hotels are taking part.

Hijkoop says New York City’s hotels are averaging 80% occupancy for 2023. That number is no doubt climbing with the holiday season.

Plenty of new hotels are on the scene, as is always the case with New York City. Hijkoop says NoMad (North of Madison Square Park) has seen several hotel openings recently, including: The Fifth Avenue Hotel; The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad; and Virgin Hotels New York. Firmdale Hotels’ Warren Street Hotel has opened in Tribeca, And in Harlem, the revitalized Victoria Theater is a mixed-use building home to the new Renaissance New York Harlem Hotel, retail spaces, as well as cultural spaces for The Apollo, including two new flexible studio theatres, a central lobby, administrative offices and ground floor gallery space

“It’s interesting seeing where new hotels are opening, it shows where people are travelling” when they come to New York City, says Hijkoop. For many years one of New York City Tourism + Conventions’ mandates has been to get visitors out and about, seeing more of Manhattan, as well as NYC’s other boroughs: Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. The tourism board’s ‘NYC Local Legends’ video series spotlights all five of the boroughs with neighbourhood tips from those in the know.

Also on the site is New York City Tourism + Conventions’ travel trade resource, including the NYC Travel Trade Academy, a specialist program with a six-module educational series.

Travel industry professionals in both Toronto and Montreal should keep an eye out for New York City Tourism + Conventions’ trade mission, coming to both cities in spring 2024. The New York Yankees are taking part, as is Edge NYC and many more.

The New York City Tourism + Conventions site is https://www.nyctourism.com/.