NYC Hospitality Industry Looks Forward to Opening Borders as Key to Recovery

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

New York City’s ailing hospitality sector has been anxiously awaiting Nov. 8, the date when international travelers will once again be permitted into the country.

On Thursday, at the Crain’s New York Now Summit on tourism, industry leaders expressed hope for renewed tourism in the Big Apple, which has managed to hold onto its appeal, despite the pandemic.  “This city has a broad appeal, like no place else on the planet,” said Fred Dixon, chief executive of NYC & Company, which is the City’s marketing Agency. “You think people want to go to beaches and mountains. That’s not true for a huge portion of the population—they crave the interaction, the arts and culture and Broadway.”

With the holidays just around the corner, and the borders opening back up to vaccinated travelers shortly, optimism is in the air.  The summer and fall also brought glitters of positivity.  The U.S. Open and the U.N. General Assembly went on without a hitch, filling hotels for a brief time.  Also, numerous business conferences took place successfully and 26 shows debuted on Broadway.

Still, many key indicators remained stagnant.  As reported by Crain’s NY, in August volume at airports in the region was 38% below pre-pandemic levels, only a modest improvement over July’s 42%. Demand for hotels in NYC held steady at roughly 2.2 million rooms in Sept, and 2.1 million in August, in contrast to pre-pandemic levels of 2.7 to 2.8 million rooms demanded monthly.

Dixon said he heard from his international contacts that there was plenty of buzz and high interest in visiting NYC—which may partially have been spurred by a $6 million ad campaign abroad.  Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, said that she hasn’t heard about international buyers crowding the market for theater tickets yet. For the time being, she said it’s domestic patrons who have been coming to shows, to show their support for the city. “People think it’s their patriotic duty to come back, eat, stay and go to Broadway,” St. Martin said.

As per Crain’s , with the successful vaccine rollout came a strong decline in the number of COVID-19 cases and a plummet in hospitalizations.  This has led New Yorkers to feel confident about returning to their social routines, and frequenting indoor venues.  “That’s the language right now—feeling safe,” said Melba Wilson, President of the NYC Hospitality Alliance.  “We expect a surge in business,” Wilson added. “It’s about the millions of people who want to come here. When tourists come to New York, it puts money in our pockets and our staffs’ pockets.”