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International tourism, number of arrivals

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Countries With the Most International Tourists

As tourism rebounds from pandemic lows, the United Nations reports these countries welcomed the most visitors last year.

(Getty Images) |

Tourism is Rebounding

Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic essentially shut down international travel worldwide, the tourism industry is bouncing back as summer arrives in the northern hemisphere.

International tourism saw a close to 200% year-over-year increase in the first quarter of 2022, and although several related statistics are still well below 2019 levels, gradual recovery is expected to continue throughout the year, according to June analysis from the United Nations World Tourism Organization . Nearly 50% of experts surveyed by the organization said they expect international tourism to return to those pre-pandemic levels from three years ago in 2023, while 44% said it could be 2024 or later.

This is especially good news for countries whose economies are the most reliant on the tourism industry. Those countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba and St. Lucia, according to 2021 gross domestic product data released in June by The World Travel & Tourism Council.

[ RELATED: These Countries Are the Best for Tourism ]

But the countries most supported economically by tourism aren't necessarily the ones that welcome the most visitors. The United Nations compiles several metrics related to inbound tourism by country , including international tourist arrivals, with the most recent data being from 2021. The statistics show that industry recovery still has a ways to go: The most-visited country in 2021 had about 32 million international arrivals. France, the top-ranked country in 2019 – before the pandemic hit – had 90 million.

Here are the countries that welcomed the most international tourist arrivals in 2021, according to the U.N. Included for each are other pieces of tourism-related data, such as GDP contribution percentages from the WTTC.

10. Hungary

2021 international tourist arrivals: 7.9 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 16.9 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 4.6%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 10.6 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 17.4 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 16.1%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 11.7 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 35.2 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 6.4%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 12.7 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 22.7 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 7.1%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 14.7 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 31.3 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 14.9%

5. United States

2021 international tourist arrivals: 22.1 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 79.4 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 5.5%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 26.9 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 64.5 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 9.1%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 29.9 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 51.2 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 7.3%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 31.2 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 83.5 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 8.5%

2021 international tourist arrivals: 31.9 million 2019 international tourist arrivals: 45 million 2021 percentage contribution of tourism to GDP: 13.1%

The Countries With the Most International Tourist Arrivals in 2021:

• United States

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NTTO Releases International Travel Statistics for 2023

• International Visitor Arrivals of 66.5 million Increased 31% from 2022.  
• Overseas Visitation to Four States/Territories Exceeded Visitation in 2019.

International Visitor Arrivals to the United States in 2023

Total international visitor arrivals 1 of  66.5 million in 2023 increased 15.7 million (+31%) from 50.8 million in 2022 to a level 84% of the 79.4 million arrivals in 2019.

Annual international arrivals from 2000 to 2023 covering all countries and world regions are available on NTTO’s  ADIS/I-94 Visitor Arrivals program page or can be downloaded here .

NTTO’s latest forecast expects international visitor arrivals to surpass pre-pandemic 2019 levels in 2025 with 85.2 million.

Major Characteristics of Overseas Visitors to the United States from the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT)

New York was the most-visited state by overseas travelers in 2023, up from #2 in 2022, followed by Florida and California.

New York City was the most-visited city by overseas travelers in 2023, followed by Miami and Los Angeles.

2023 overseas visitation to the following U.S. states/territories surpassed visitation in 2019: Puerto Rico (+85%), Tennessee (+15%), Texas (+7%) and Georgia (+5%).

These and other characteristics of international visitors to the United States can be analyzed in reports on the SIAT Results Inbound page or can be viewed in the SIAT Inbound Survey Monitor data visualization tool .

U.S. Citizen Departures from the United States in 2023

Total U.S. citizen departures 2 of  98.5 million in 2023 increased 17.6 million (+22%) from 80.8 million in 2022 to a level 99% of the 99.7 million arrivals in 2019.

Annual international arrivals from 2000 to 2023 covering all countries and world regions are available on NTTO’s APIS/I-92 Visitor Departures Program page or can be directly downloaded here .

Travel Trade Statistics

Spending by international visitors to the United States (travel exports) totaled $213.1 billion in 2023, an increase of $47.6 billion (+29%) from $165.5 billion in 2022 to a level 89% of travel exports in 2019. Travel exports accounted for 7.0% of total U.S. exports of goods and services in 2023, up from 5.5% in 2022.  Travel exports supported 1.6 million U.S. jobs in 2023 3 .

Spending by U.S. residents abroad (travel imports) totaled $215.4 billion in 2023, an increase of $53.5 billion (+33%) from $161.9 billion in 2022 to a level 17% above travel imports in 2019.

Travel yielded a $2.3 billion trade deficit in 2023.

NTTO Releases New Data Visualization Tool

NTTO is releasing a Country Profile Monitor, which includes annual visitation, traveler characteristics and economic impact of travel to the United States for 71 countries.

Click here to see this new tool!

1 ADIS/I-94 (with stays of 1-night or more in the United States and visiting under certain visa types)

2 apis/ “i-92” (arrivals + departures), 3 direct and indirect jobs.

UN Tourism | Bringing the world closer

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International Tourism and Covid-19

A compilation of data on country, regional and global level on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism, alongside an impact assessment on the economic impact of COVID-19 crisis on tourism.

UN Tourism and COVID-19

As the world is facing an unprecedented global health, social and economic emergency with the COVID-19 pandemic, travel and tourism is among the most affected sectors with airplanes on the ground, hotels closed and travel restrictions put in place in virtually all countries around the world.

Therefore, UN Tourism has launched a new dashboard on COVID-19 and tourism which shows data on the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism sector across the world, by regions and by destinations.  

The dashboard includes data on:

• International tourist arrivals
• International tourism receipts
• Tourism as share of GDP
• Tourism as share in total exports
• International tourism as share of total tourism (including domestic)
• Impact assessment of COVID-crisis on tourism
• Impact assessment of previous crises on tourism

UN Tourism COVID-19 and Tourism dashboard is available for free and is updated monthly.

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What’s It Like Traveling to China These Days?

China has been rolling out new visa-free programs and promising to make travel easier for foreigners. But challenges remain.

By Vivian Wang

Reporting from Shanghai

By some measures, visiting China has never been easier.

China has been making a huge push to attract foreign tourists in recent months. It has rolled out a visa-free program for dozens of countries, with the list still growing. It has pledged to make it easier for visitors to pay for things, book hotels and get around.

The goal is to signal that China is open for business — and fun! — again, after three years of pandemic controls made it literally impossible for most foreigners to enter. The government is especially keen to attract visitors as it tries to rev up growth .

China also wants to show that it is still connected to the world, despite tensions with the West and the growing reach of its security apparatus at home.

In a sign of its eagerness, Beijing has offered the visa waivers to countries that have not done the same in return — a rare move for a government that usually insists on reciprocity.

But actually traveling to China can still be a major challenge. Here’s what to know:

What’s new?

China is unilaterally offering visa-free entry for 15 days to citizens from a slew of countries, mostly Western European ones like France, Germany and Spain. The program began in December and has continued to expand; Australia, New Zealand and Poland were included last month. It is set to run through 2025.

In addition, citizens of more than 50 countries, including the United States, are now eligible for visa-free transit. They can enter China for 72 or 144 hours, depending on their port of entry, if they are continuing on to other destinations.

Transit travelers must stay within certain areas. For example, people flying into Shanghai can only visit the city and the neighboring provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

China has also promised to reduce logistical headaches for foreigners. WeChat and AliPay — the so-called super apps that most Chinese use for every aspect of daily life, from digital payments to ride hailing to ordering at restaurants — can now be linked to international credit cards, not just Chinese ones. (Most businesses do not accept credit cards directly.) And in May, the government told hotels not to refuse foreign guests, which was once a common practice.

Why is China doing all this?

Simply put: It needs money.

As China’s economy slows, its consumers have been hesitant to spend, fanning fears of deflation. The government also wants to win back foreign investment, after many overseas companies were spooked by China’s long Covid lockdowns and tightening political environment. Visitors on the 15-day visa-free program are allowed not only to sight-see, but to conduct business.

Attracting more visitors would also help the government rebut accusations from the United States and other Western countries that China has become more hostile to foreigners.

Beijing last year revised its counterespionage law to broaden the definition of spying, and state propaganda has warned that seemingly harmless foreigners might be trying to undermine China’s national security. Still, the government insists that reports of xenophobia and rising nationalism are just spin, orchestrated by countries trying to stop China’s rise.

Are more visitors coming?

In the first half of this year, there were 14.6 million arrivals from overseas, according to Chinese statistics. Most of them were visa-free.

That’s 2.5 times as many as China had during the same period last year, but well below the 24 million in the first half of 2019, before the pandemic.

China’s efforts to smooth out visitors’ experiences have also had mixed results.

On a recent Friday in Shanghai, Luka Lefevre, 24, and Charlotte Collet, 21, were cramming as much sightseeing as possible into a 10-hour layover between Paris and Vietnam. They had visited Yu Garden, a temple complex, and were taking photos on East Nanjing Road, a major shopping street.

But they’d had trouble using their phones to pay for things, and had to resort to cash, they said. They were also surprised by the ubiquitous surveillance cameras.

“For us, it’s a little bit too much, because we don’t have this in France,” Ms. Collet said. “But we know that it’s for safety.”

“For 10 hours, it’s O.K.,” Mr. Lefevre added.

Even visitors who’d figured out the Chinese apps said it had taken a while.

Walking along the Bund, Shanghai’s historic waterfront area, Maeline Lachaud and Nadia Hofmann, both Swiss university students, said they had linked their credit cards to AliPay while traveling through Xi’an, Chongqing and now Shanghai. The convenience was “amazing,” they said.

But Ms. Lachaud, a first-time visitor, said she had relied heavily upon Ms. Hofmann, who is minoring in Chinese studies and had visited once before. She hadn’t realized that AliPay had to be used not only to pay, but also to order at restaurants, and that the in-app menus were in Chinese.

Many major tourist attractions across China, such as the Forbidden City in Beijing, also require advance reservations through platforms like WeChat that are largely in Chinese. (Because of the super apps’ ubiquity, many websites in China are poorly maintained.)

“China’s not for beginners,” Ms. Hofmann said.

Vivian Wang is a China correspondent based in Beijing, where she writes about how the country’s global rise and ambitions are shaping the daily lives of its people. More about Vivian Wang

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The graph shows the overall numbers of tourist arrivals in five countries between 1995 and 2010. In 1995 over 70 million tourists visited the United States, more than twice as many as the next most popular destination shown, France. However, between 2005 and 2010 there was a decrease of approximately 1,500,000 in the numbers going to the United States whereas there was an increase of nearly 20 million tourists visiting France. The result was that in 2010 the number of tourists arriving in the United States and France was almost equal at around 90 million each.The number of tourists visiting Malaysia rose steadily over the whole period but by 2010 the total was still under 50 million. The countries with the fewest tourist arrivals were Brazil and Egypt. The number of tourists going there was similar between 1995 and 2000 but after that there was a greater increase in tourists going to Egypt than to Brazil.

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Monthly international tourist arrivals worldwide 2019-2024

In March 2024, the number of international tourist arrivals worldwide increased over the previous year but remained slightly below the figure from March 2019, reported before the impact of the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, monthly inbound tourist arrivals worldwide totaled nearly 103 million in March 2024.

Number of monthly international tourist arrivals worldwide from January 2019 to March 2024 (in millions)

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January 2019 to March 2024

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Leisure Travel

• Leading outbound travel destinations from the UK 2019-2023
• Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2002-2023
• Leading UK cities for international tourism 2019-2023, by visits

Accommodation

Most popular hotel brands in the UK Q3 2023

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Statistics on " Travel and tourism in the United Kingdom (UK) "

• Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in the UK 2019-2022
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by type
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK 2019-2022
• Median full-time salary in tourism and hospitality industries in the UK 2023
• CPI inflation rate of travel and tourism services in the UK 2023
• Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2019-2022, by purpose of trip
• Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2019-2022, by number of visits
• Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Number of overnight stays by inbound tourists in the UK 2004-2022
• International tourist spending in the UK 2004-2024
• Leading inbound travel markets for the UK 2019-2023, by spending
• Number of outbound tourist visits from the UK 2007-2023
• Outbound tourism visits from the UK 2019-2022, by purpose
• Leading outbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Number of outbound overnight stays by UK residents 2011-2023
• Outbound tourism expenditure in the UK 2007-2023
• Domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Domestic tourism trips in Great Britain 2018-2022, by purpose
• Number of domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2023, by destination type
• Number of tourism day visits in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Total domestic travel expenditure in Great Britain 2019-2022
• Domestic overnight tourism spending in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Expenditure on domestic day trips in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Average spend on domestic summer holidays in the United Kingdom (UK) 2011-2023
• Number of accommodation businesses in the UK 2008-2022
• Number of accommodation enterprises in the UK 2018-2021, by type
• Turnover of accommodation businesses in the UK 2008-2022
• Turnover of accommodation services in the UK 2015-2022, by sector
• Number of hotel businesses in the UK 2008-2022
• Most popular hotel brands in the UK Q2 2024
• Consumer expenditure on accommodation in the UK 2005-2022
• Attitudes towards traveling in the UK 2024
• Travel frequency for private purposes in the UK 2024
• Travel frequency for business purposes in the UK 2024
• Share of Britons taking days of holiday 2019-2023, by number of days
• Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by gender
• Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by age
• Leading regions for summer staycations in the UK 2024
• Preferred methods to book the next overseas holiday in the UK October 2022, by age
• Travel & Tourism market revenue in the United Kingdom 2019-2029, by segment
• Travel & Tourism market revenue growth in the UK 2020-2029, by segment
• Revenue forecast in selected countries in the Travel & Tourism market in 2024
• Number of users of package holidays in the UK 2019-2029
• Number of users of hotels in the UK 2019-2029
• Number of users of vacation rentals in the UK 2019-2029

Other statistics that may interest you Travel and tourism in the United Kingdom (UK)

• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in the UK 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by type
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Median full-time salary in tourism and hospitality industries in the UK 2023
• Premium Statistic CPI inflation rate of travel and tourism services in the UK 2023

Inbound tourism

• Basic Statistic Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2002-2023
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2019-2022, by purpose of trip
• Basic Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2019-2022, by number of visits
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Premium Statistic Number of overnight stays by inbound tourists in the UK 2004-2022
• Premium Statistic International tourist spending in the UK 2004-2024
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets for the UK 2019-2023, by spending
• Premium Statistic Leading UK cities for international tourism 2019-2023, by visits

Outbound tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of outbound tourist visits from the UK 2007-2023
• Premium Statistic Outbound tourism visits from the UK 2019-2022, by purpose
• Premium Statistic Leading outbound travel destinations from the UK 2019-2023
• Premium Statistic Leading outbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Premium Statistic Number of outbound overnight stays by UK residents 2011-2023
• Premium Statistic Outbound tourism expenditure in the UK 2007-2023

Domestic tourism

• Premium Statistic Domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Premium Statistic Domestic tourism trips in Great Britain 2018-2022, by purpose
• Premium Statistic Number of domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2023, by destination type
• Premium Statistic Number of tourism day visits in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Premium Statistic Total domestic travel expenditure in Great Britain 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Domestic overnight tourism spending in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Premium Statistic Expenditure on domestic day trips in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Premium Statistic Average spend on domestic summer holidays in the United Kingdom (UK) 2011-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of accommodation businesses in the UK 2008-2022
• Premium Statistic Number of accommodation enterprises in the UK 2018-2021, by type
• Premium Statistic Turnover of accommodation businesses in the UK 2008-2022
• Premium Statistic Turnover of accommodation services in the UK 2015-2022, by sector
• Premium Statistic Number of hotel businesses in the UK 2008-2022
• Basic Statistic Most popular hotel brands in the UK Q2 2024
• Premium Statistic Consumer expenditure on accommodation in the UK 2005-2022

Travel behavior

• Premium Statistic Attitudes towards traveling in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Travel frequency for private purposes in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Travel frequency for business purposes in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Share of Britons taking days of holiday 2019-2023, by number of days
• Premium Statistic Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by gender
• Premium Statistic Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by age
• Premium Statistic Leading regions for summer staycations in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Preferred methods to book the next overseas holiday in the UK October 2022, by age
• Premium Statistic Travel & Tourism market revenue in the United Kingdom 2019-2029, by segment
• Premium Statistic Travel & Tourism market revenue growth in the UK 2020-2029, by segment
• Premium Statistic Revenue forecast in selected countries in the Travel & Tourism market in 2024
• Premium Statistic Number of users of package holidays in the UK 2019-2029
• Premium Statistic Number of users of hotels in the UK 2019-2029
• Premium Statistic Number of users of vacation rentals in the UK 2019-2029

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well

Start spreading the news: New York City travel and tourism are back

As the travel industry began to recover in 2021, we expressed  our view that the enduring allure of New York would continue to draw visitors back to the city. That projection is well on track, as more than 62 million people visited New York City in 2023, representing 93 percent of 2019 levels. 1 “DiNapoli: NYC tourism approaches full recovery, still top major U.S. tourist destination,” Office of the New York State Comptroller, May 23, 2024. The city now expects to exceed prepandemic visitor numbers by 2025.

Although travelers are back, their mindsets and behaviors have shifted. Visitors are more interested in experiences (40 percent of US respondents in our recent traveler survey  say they are willing to splurge on them 2 “ The way we travel now ,” McKinsey, May 29, 2024. ), but gone are the days when destinations could get away with offering experiences that are kitschy, overcrowded, or one-size-fits-all. And visitors still want to see the most famous New York City sites (Central Park, for example, remains the number-one visitor attraction based on Tripadvisor reviews), but they are increasingly venturing beyond Manhattan, looking for one-of-a-kind adventures and spending time outdoors. Meanwhile, business travel is recovering at a slower pace than leisure is, but postpandemic corporate travelers are once again looking to make in-person connections. And they continue to find New York one of the best cities in the world to meet and deepen relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues.

Given its history, culture, diversity, grit, and glamour, New York has a unique opportunity to delight visitors — while showing them the “real” city in ways they might never have seen it before.

The Big Apple is back

Tourists still “want to be a part of it,” as Frank Sinatra famously sang of New York City back in 1979. Both domestic and international visitors are making a postpandemic return to the city. Recovery is apparent across the tourism sector, creating widespread opportunities for stakeholders to capitalize on renewed travel spending.

Domestic tourism has recovered to roughly 95 percent of 2019 levels, with more than 50 million domestic travelers coming to the city in 2023. 3 “Fact sheet: New York City tourism generates $74 billion in economic impact for state and city economy in 2023,” New York City Tourism + Conventions, December 12, 2023. Boston, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC, remain the top five sources of domestic visitors, according to mobile data from Placer Labs.

International travel is not far behind, recovering to about 86 percent of 2019 levels. 4 “Fact sheet: New York City tourism generates $74 billion in economic impact for state and city economy in 2023,” New York City Tourism + Conventions, December 12, 2023. Eleven million international travelers visited New York City in 2023. They are an important source of travel revenue as they spend, on average, three times as much as domestic travelers. The numbers of visitors from Canada and Mexico have nearly returned to prepandemic levels. The numbers of visits from overseas source markets trail slightly behind them. Travel from China still lags behind noticeably at 35 percent of 2019 levels, in large part due to shifting travel preferences and slower economic growth in China. A more robust resumption of Chinese tourism could provide significant benefits to New York, as the average spend per Chinese visitor historically hovers around $3,000—roughly double what visitors from, for example, the United Kingdom spend.

Signs of a broadly strong recovery are apparent across the tourism sector. New York City airports 5 John F. Kennedy International (JFK), Newark Liberty International (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA), and New York Stewart International (SWF) Airports. served 144 million commercial passengers in 2023. 6 2023 Airport Traffic Report , Port Authority Aviation Department, April 2024. Hotels sold 37 million room nights, reaching 92 percent of 2019 levels. Broadway’s admissions in its 2022–23 season ramped up to 83 percent of 2018–19 levels, 7 “Fact sheet,” December 12, 2023. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art saw 10 percent more visitors than in 2019. 8 Lee Cheshire and José da Silva, “The 100 most popular art museums in the world—blockbusters, bots and bounce-backs,” Art Newspaper , March 26, 2024. All of this helped the city’s tourism industry generate $74 billion in economic impact in 2023—not too far off from the roughly $80 billion generated in 2019 (Exhibit 1). 9 Numbers are not adjusted for inflation.

Travelers are arriving with new desires and expectations

By the numbers, travel to New York City looks more and more like it used to. But what travelers want from their journeys has fundamentally changed. Visitors’ new approaches to discovering the city could generate opportunities for travel stakeholders to develop new offerings but could also challenge them to market a broader set of unique, lesser-known experiences.

Visitors are increasingly venturing beyond the classic Big Apple sights

While Manhattan remains uniquely appealing, many visitors now look farther afield. They are taking the time to enjoy more of what the metropolitan area has to offer. According to mobile data from Placer Labs, Manhattan was the only county in New York City that saw a decrease in visitors between 2019 and 2023. 10 Data is from Placer Labs and is based on overnight stays from US mobile phones with “home resting” locations that are more than 50 miles outside New York City. In the same time period, the percentage of city visitors taking a peek at Times Square declined. 11 Based on US mobile data from Placer Labs, 11 percent of visitors to New York City visited the zip code with Times Square, versus 13 percent in 2019. This was also the case for other classic sites, such as the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and the Statue of Liberty.

Instead of confining themselves to the standard tourist itinerary, travelers are now more likely to cross the East River to enjoy Prospect Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, for example, or to take in a Major League baseball game at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx or at Citi Field in Queens. Demand is rising for day trips outside the city to places such as the Hudson Valley, a culinary and artistic hot spot, and Long Island’s North Fork for its wineries (Exhibit 2). Visitors appear to be making longer stays in the city, which may help encourage exploration of more distant neighborhoods and attractions. The number of domestic visitors who stayed in the city between eight and 31 days increased by roughly 40 percent between 2019 and 2023. 12 Based on Placer Labs US mobile data.

Innovative, immersive experiences are becoming a major draw

Our recent travel survey indicates that “authentic experiences and immersion in the local culture” are one of the top three motivations for travelers. And 63 percent of travelers say that the quality and range of local activities are important factors in their choice of destination. 13 “ The way we travel now ,” McKinsey, May 29, 2024. New York City has amply responded to this trend, with classic sites reinventing themselves through new experiences that encourage repeat visitors to take another look. Times Square’s RiseNY experience allows visitors to take a simulated flight over the city while learning about its history. Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock observation deck debuted the “Beam” in December 2023, giving visitors an opportunity to recreate a famous 1932 photo of construction workers eating their lunches while perilously perched on a construction beam. Newer attractions are also climbing to the top of travelers’ bucket lists by devising unique offerings. Summit One Vanderbilt, a skyscraper that opened its doors in 2021, broke into the city’s top 20 attractions on Tripadvisor by combining a sky-high vantage point with immersive art installations.

Travelers are spending more time outside and on wellness-based activities

Today’s visitors to New York City expect more than just shopping and nightlife. According to Mabrian, tourist-created social media mentions relating to nature, wellness, and food and cuisine have increased by five percentage points each, taking share from mentions of nightlife (down 6 percent), arts and culture (down 4 percent), and shopping (down 3 percent) (Exhibit 3).

Visits to parks within the city have steadily increased by 6 percent since 2019, 14 New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. and Manhattan’s popular High Line park is projected to receive seven million visits this year. New spas and wellness retreats have popped up in places ranging from Governors Island to the West Village, offering visitors relaxation amid the city’s hustle and bustle.

It’s not just visitors’ tastes in experiences that are changing. Healthier dining habits are emerging. Restaurants are responding by offering diners more options: about 52 percent plan to add more plant-based or vegan options to their menus in the next six months. About 30 percent plan to add nonalcoholic beverages. (Relatedly, a study by TouchBistro found that New York City restaurant operators are seeing lower alcohol sales. 15 “Rebalancing the ‘COVID-19 effect’ on alcohol sales,” Nielsen, May 7, 2020. )

Business travelers’ continued quest for connection

Business travel is critical for New York City, given that domestic business travelers on average spend more than twice as much as domestic leisure travelers. 16 The tourism industry in New York City: Reigniting the return , Office of the New York State Comptroller, April 2021. Some might have questioned whether business travel to the city would ever fully recover; after all, office vacancy rates were still stuck at about 23 percent at the end of 2023, 17 “Office sector,” Office of the New York State Comptroller, accessed on July 12, 2024. and the postpandemic weekly share of in-office work remains at about 50 percent. 18 “Getting America back to work,” Kastle, updated on July 8, 2024. But while business travel is taking longer than leisure travel to recover, it now comprises 19 percent of all visitors, which is comparable with the 20 percent it accounted for in 2019.

What might lie behind business travel’s solid comeback? One factor could be New York City’s strong employment level, which has now exceeded its 2019 mark (Exhibit 4). The high concentration of workers employed in New York’s metro area could be a draw for colleagues from elsewhere, who are looking to meet and collaborate with their New York–based coworkers.

The opportunity for in-person connections remains a central motivation for business travelers. Research from our real estate practice  has shown that colleagues find in-person collaboration far superior to remote working when it comes to sparking “ moments that matter ”: it enables apprenticeship and learning; solves complex, cross-functional, creative, or analytical problems; fosters deeper relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues; and builds community and culture.

Business travelers continue to choose New York as a backdrop for sharing these types of moments. In October 2023, the city’s luxury and upper-upscale hotels (the two top-priced tiers as measured by Smith Travel Research) saw their highest levels of group demand since 2018. 19 Stephanie Ricca, Jan Freitag, and Isaac Collazo, “Tight supply drives up New York City hotel rates,” Hotel News Now , November 30, 2023. The Javits Center, the largest exhibition venue in the city, hosted 126 events in 2023, which is 90 percent of its 2019 total. 20 “Board of directors meeting,” Javits Center, October 4, 2023.

Stakeholders should look for ways to continue giving corporate travelers reasons to view New York as a desirable context for collaborative experiences (for example, by offering opportunities for unique company off-sites or for deepened one-on-one business relationships).

Five ways to build on the city’s travel renaissance

Based on our experience and research, below are five ways that stakeholders (such as travel suppliers, hoteliers, tour operators, transportation firms, and attraction or activity companies) can help meet travelers’ changing needs and aspirations.

Be front and center during trip planning, connecting with travelers before they arrive

Today’s travelers love to dream about their next adventure, with many saying they enjoy the trip-planning process  and rely on family and friends for inspiration and recommendations. Given how many things there are for travelers to do in New York City, it is important for experience, accommodation, and service providers to be top of mind for travelers before they even arrive—in part by helping visitors find experiences that are tailored to their personal preferences and interests. Targeted social media campaigns can put ideas in a traveler’s head that might come to fruition the next time that traveler comes to New York for a work trip. (And ensuring that the experiences themselves are memorable may encourage visitors to recommend a trip to the city to their family and friends back home—even providing them with a list of “must do” activities.)

Harness technology to enrich every visit and experience

Visitors increasingly want to feel that they are experiencing New York as a local would. Technology could help them get closer to this goal. An AI-powered tour guide, for example, could be hyper-knowledgeable about New York City, customize each itinerary to the user’s tastes and preferences, and recommend must-sees that are off the beaten path. New York is an ideal test bed for such offerings because the city presents visitors with such a large array of options and attractions. Stakeholders can join forces to memorialize and digitize their locally grown perspectives to gain new customers and induce loyalty and spending.

Expand beyond Manhattan to make New York City feel much bigger

Stakeholders can develop new offerings to encourage visitors to seek experiences in lesser-known neighborhoods outside of Manhattan. Underused warehouses in Brooklyn and Queens could be repurposed as venues for outdoor art galleries, corporate off-sites, immersive historical exhibitions, or innovative, tech-enabled experiences. Travelers could be offered incentives to check out nature in upstate New York or a baseball game on Staten Island. Visitors who are discouraged by Manhattan’s hotel prices, which are now at all-time highs , might be pleased to be made aware of more affordable accommodations in the outer boroughs.

Lean on partnerships to create seamless, bespoke, and awe-inspiring experiences

Major upcoming events—including New York City’s 400th birthday in 2025, the 250th birthday of the United States in 2026, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup final (which is expected to bring in about one million extra visitors and create roughly $2 billion in economic impact )—are sure to draw incremental travelers to the city. These events will heighten the need to provide seamless travel experiences. Airlines can partner with local transit actors to help guide travelers’ journeys long after they disembark from the plane. Hotels can do more to help travelers get reservations at top restaurants. And venues can offer behind-the-scenes access, featuring immersive experiences that elevate visitors’ senses with sounds, visual design, or artificial reality.

Empower employees to create authentic, personalized experiences

Tourism-related employment in New York City is still down 10 percent from 2019, 21 “Tourism sector,” Office of the New York State Comptroller, accessed on July 12, 2024. and full-service restaurant staff turnover in the city is higher than the US average at more than 30 percent. 22 2024 New York City state of restaurants report , TouchBistro, accessed on July 12, 2024. Leading travel providers know that talent, especially on the front line, plays a powerful role in surprising and delighting travelers, adding value that can range from knowing visitors’ names to telling them where to find a speakeasy (and how to get in). Empowering frontline workers with tech will give them the information they need to fully personalize experiences for visitors and to automate manual tasks.

Maya Angelou famously said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” The same holds true for New York City. Travelers might not remember every detail of a trip, but they will remember how the city made them feel. Leaders in New York’s travel and tourism industry can work together to help visitors enjoy a new universe of attractions and experiences that allow them to fully immerse themselves in the city’s enduring history, diversity, bustle, and glamour.

Alex Cosmas is a partner in McKinsey’s New York office, where Maurice Obeid is a senior partner and Rebecca Stone is an associate partner; and Jules Seeley is a senior partner in the Boston office.

The authors wish to thank Anthony Shorris, Guenter Fuchs, Linda Liu, Margaux Constantin, Sarah Fellay, Steffen Köpke, and Urs Binggeli for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Seth Stevenson, a senior editor in the New York office.

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