If you were out in the city this past weekend you saw a spring-fueled resurgence. Times Square was packed. City Guide's distribution team has spent the past few days fielding a higher volume of "more maps, more magazine copies" requests from hotel desks than since before the pandemic. The news from the Hotel Association of New York City is excellent, with the week of March 6th-12th reflecting the highest occupancy numbers since the holidays, with Saturday spiking up to 80% full.

Nationally, the tourism industry continues to hit high water marks.

• "Leisure demand is ‘insatiable.’" Bank of America airline analyst Andrew Didora notes leisure travel is basically fully recovered to 2019 levels. March 20th was the biggest day for air traffic of the pandemic.
• "Business traffic is booming...we have made so much more improvement than we thought." United chief commercial officer Andrew Nocella notes the strength in business air travel, echoed by American Airlines seeing higher domestic leisure demand than ever before.
• "The pent-up demand for travel predicted throughout the height of the pandemic has arrived." American Express Travel president Audrey Hendley notes February was their biggest month ever. (NYC was the #3 destination, behind only London and Paris.)
• “We are seeing strong booking activity for spring break and the beginnings of a very strong summer.” Jamie Lane, VP of research at AirDNA, notes rising prices aren't deterring vacationers on booking sites. Also worth noting: U.S. travel agency sales are above prepandemic levels; U.S. road trips have eclipsed prepandemic levels; and 2022 is a year visitors are going to spend more.

Based on the data we're seeing from Europe, the BA.2 variant is not severe enough to cause a shift in the recovery timeline. The tourists have started their return—a quick look around the city will confirm it.

Women In Tourism Honorees Announced

On Monday, the Women In Tourism Awards presented by American Airlines revealed its inaugural honorees. A diverse group of over 200 submissions were received. Judges from across the tourism spectrum reviewed the nominations and selected an extraordinary slate of honorees, who will be honored at an awards luncheon on May 10th at Sony Hall. We hope to see you there, as this will be a great opportunity to connect with fellow industry professionals and celebrate deserving women who make a difference in NYC tourism.

Links of Interest

Tmes Square Alliance and OUTFRONT Media launch new campaign, Make Up for Lost Time in Times Square, now on 5 screens in Times Square. Photo by Times Square Alliance.

NYC

• The Chelsea Hotel once again taking guests after 11-year hiatus
• Happy birthday to Aladdin—8 years on Broadway!
• Smorgasburg is back: April 1st at the Oculus and April 3rd at Prospect Park
• Roll-A-Rama at the Runway Rink brings rollerskating back to the TWA Hotel tarmac starting April 15th
• Fleet Week will be back in-person this year, May 25th-31st
• Jean-Georges Vongerichten opening restaurant and market destination at new Tin Building in The Seaport
• Air New Zealand to add NYC non-stop
• Upper West Side's Metro Theater coming back to life as restaurant-theaters
• Sixteen shows opening on Broadway in March and April: all NYC theatre details here

GOODBYES

• RIP, Di Fara Pizza founder Domenico DeMarco
• The 9/11 Tribute Museum to close its doors
• Florence Prime Meat Market leaving the Village after 86 years