City Guide is staying on top of the latest:
- Times Square. The Times recently looked at Times Square as a linchpin of NYC's recovery. Some days last month saw foot traffic volume higher than the same day in 2019. The April numbers show average daily foot traffic up 113% over last year and 758% over 2020.
- It's not just midtown. The latest from the Meatpacking District notes over 325,000 weekly visitors since April, versus just 100,000 visitors for the same period last year. Eight 2022 weeks have already surpassed 2021's busiest week, with the summer yet to come.
- Hotels are bouncing back. For the week ending May 21st, the numbers per NYC & Co. are strong:
Tuesday and Wednesday of that week spiked up to 92% occupancy.
You can see the strong recovery trend line, especially in revenue per available room, in the new letter from NYC Comptroller Brad Lander. (Per city stats, tourism has rebounded to 90% of pre-pandemic levels.)
LINKS OF INTEREST
Celebrate Pride with Kristaps Ancāns’s Polar Rainbow, which brings virtual color to the skies above Times Square via a phone app. The neighborhood will also see a series of live events this summer, hosted by the Times Square Alliance.
NYC
- Subway ridership at pandemic-era peaks
- Statue City Cruises at 70% of pre-pandemic ridership among other positive indicators for NYC tourism
- Grand Central Madison to connect Long Island and Manhattan starting this summer
- Arthur's Tavern reopening this week
- Ipanema reopening near Penn Station
- New cocktail destination Parker’s now open at the Thompson Central Park New York
- Adult mini golf coming to NoMad via Swingers Crazy Golf, June 17th
- Love Above All Ball to return to the Rainbow Room June 24th
- Smoke Jazz Club reopening on the UWS in July
- New food hall Olly Olly Market coming to Chelsea this summer
- Watchbox to open flagship collector's lounge in midtown this fall
- NYC retail bouncing back as rents stabilize
- NYC vying for 2024 Democratic convention
- NoMo SoHo hotel becomes first U.S. hotel to offer NFT reservations
BEYOND NYC
- U.S. launches new national travel strategy, seeking major increase in international visitors
- Higher-than-anticipated average daily rates have accelerated hotel recovery by a full year
- Hotel CEOs are bullish, can weather another downturn
- Summer airline demand topping forecasts (IATA moves up recovery timeline one year)
- U.S. restaurant sales to exceed 2019 levels
- Exhibitions industry performance continues to improve
- Travel agency air ticket sales for April up 156% year over year (setting a 7-year high)
- High demand and high prices for summer travel
CLOSING TIME
- Final dates announced for Dear Evan Hansen (September 18th) and Tina (August 14th)
- UES's Little Frog closes (making room for Sandro's return)
- After 28 years, Margot Patisserie to close on the UWS
- After 95 years (or so) Holland Bar has its last call
