New York Bracing For 1 Million Chinese Tourists a Year by 2018

China is NYC's 4th largest source of tourists

New York City is expecting one million annual Chinese tourists by 2018.

This year, 921,000 Chinese are expected to visit New York, an eight percent rise over last year’s 852,000 and considerably more than 2014’s 743,000. China is the fourth-largest source of tourists to New York City, behind Canada, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. The city’s tourism office expects the Chinese numbers to continue to grow and exceed one million in two years.

Much of the success can be attributed to extending tourist visas to ten years, explained Fred Dixon, president and CEO of NYC & Company.

“Going from one year to 10 years is a game changer. The opportunity to return is going to be there, just in their passport, and they’re going to have the ability to come back to the US at their leisure once they have their 10-year visa, and then it’s going to be incumbent on all of us in the tourism industry to keep that inspiration going and keep New York on the top of the list,” said Dixon last year.

NYC & Company also listed Chinese tourists as being some of the biggest spenders among international tourists, usually totalling about $3,940 when they stay an average of 11 nights.

That spending does not always trickle down to accommodations. Instead of Manhattan hotels, Chinese tourists have usually chosen to stay in more modest hotels in New Jersey. In 2014, just 65 percent of Chinese visitors decided to book a hotel in Manhattan, compared to 87 percent of Brazilians and 84 percent of British tourists.

The West coast of the USA is also tremendously popular with Chinese tourists: 780,000 Chinese tourists visited L.A. last year, spending more than $1.1 billion.

Charles Liu

The Nanfang's Senior Editor