Putting Crime Aside: NYC Continues to Be the Ultimate Tourist Destination

New York City presents a chaotic scene of rampant crime, widespread homelessness, abandoned office buildings, and erratic behavior from individuals on the streets and subway stations.

Yet, it’s astonishing that the Big Apple attracted 64.3 million visitors (tourists and business travelers) in 2024, just shy of the 2019 peak of 66.2 million, and marking a 3.5% increase from 2023 as reported by the New York City Tourism + Conventions organization.

How can visitor numbers in 2025 be projected to surpass the 2019 record, with forecasts of at least 67 million travelers expected this year?

Do tourists possess a death wish? Or are they merely thrill-seekers who enjoy being confronted by unruly individuals and potentially dangerous situations?

Are business travelers mismanaging their time by coming here, amid claims from “experts” about a supposed surplus of vacant office spaces that may never recover from the COVID-19 fallout?

In reality, Manhattan’s office buildings are far from vacant — the most desirable spaces are occupied to the point that tenants report difficulty finding available offices.

While some local politicians and commentators have written off the Big Apple, the global perspective remains different. Visitors appear to have a clearer understanding than local “experts” fixated on dire statistics or skewed perceptions.

Reports of tragic subway incidents are not the only lens through which outsiders view our city; they also see it via social media, bustling with images of joyful families and friends marveling at iconic sights.

Additionally, there are the lively “Saturday Night Live” opening segments that vividly depict Midtown Manhattan and Rockefeller Center as vibrant hubs of art, entertainment, and culture; the festive Times Square New Year’s Eve celebrations surpass exciting events in London and Dubai; and the unique spectacles of the Big Apple, ranging from the Coney Island Mermaid Parade to the New York City Marathon.

Perhaps most compelling to potential visitors are the accounts of those who have come for leisure or business and had an enjoyable experience, regardless of the scary narratives surrounding crime at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Transforming it into a central migrants hub was a disappointing reflection of Mayor Adams’ judgment and a blemish on his overall record. However, for visitors, the more newsworthy development is the reopening of the Four Seasons Hotel on East 57th Street — among many recent advancements in the hospitality sector that signal a triumphant conclusion to the despondency of the COVID era, unlike any place else in America.

But what about the subways, where a record of 12 murders occurred in 2024? Shouldn’t this deter travelers? My fellow No. 6 train passengers who recently inquired in broken English about directions to the Statue of Liberty certainly didn’t seem frightened.

Context is essential here too. If one were informed that the likelihood of an assault in the subway system stands at less than one in two million based on current NYPD and MTA statistics regarding incidents and rides taken, they might not feel compelled to use Ubers for short distances.

When The New York Times recently noted that felony assaults in 2019 were even lower than in 2024 — averaging one for every 4.5 million rides — it can create the impression that the subway has become significantly more dangerous. But statistics can be misleading even when they are accurate.

This may clarify why, despite increased reports of disorder, subway ridership has not only remained stable but has actually risen. In 2024, total ridership reached 1.195 billion, an increase from 1.15 billion in 2023. Although still below the 1.699 billion recorded in 2019, prior to the widespread adoption of remote work, the trend indicates growth.

The challenges we face (which are genuine but not as severe as often depicted) are minor compared to those in other large cities, as seen in visitation statistics. For instance, consider shooting-prone Chicago, a city very similar to New York.

Visitation in the Windy City has also risen since 2020 but not nearly to the extent seen in New York. In 2023, visits were down 15.6% from 2019, whereas in the Big Apple, the decline was only 6.6% (Chicago’s statistics for 2024 were not available at press time). Any apparent recovery in Chicago is also influenced by its substantially larger convention facilities compared to New York, totaling 3.2 million square feet, which is double the space available in our city.

Thus, we are far from finished — a fact that’s evident to visitors, even if our local “experts” have yet to realize it.

scuozzo@nypost.com