Tourists in NYC May Not Be A Bad Thing
There is a reason for the “Angry New Yorker” stereotype…well, many reasons. But one major cause of the scowl on our faces may very well be the slow moving hordes of foreigners, cameras in hand, who stop every 5 minutes to admire the skyscrapers or take pictures of the pigeons. It can get annoying, when you’re rushing to class or work or your awesome new internship, maneuvering around the masses speaking in nonnative tongues. Sites like 42nd Street Times Square, Ground Zero and 5th Avenue are key areas for tourist traffic and can be easily avoidable. But the fact is that they are everywhere. On 14th Street Union Square (near where The New School’s dear campus resides), up and down Broadway and within pockets of the Village. Face it; on average, 48 million tourist visit New York City each year, according to NYCGo.com, NYC’s official guide.
That number can make anyone squirm, but keep in mind the benefits tourism has on our economy.
According to Business Insider’s article, “Over One Billion Tourists Traveled Internationally This Year“, tourism accounts for 9% of the global GDP, 1/12 of jobs and 6% of world trade.
Recognizing the great opportunities tourism can offer, the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) launched 1 Billion Tourists, 1 Billion Opportunities, a campaign to capitalize on tourism’s growth.
Over 1 billion people traveled internationally in 2012, 5 to 6 million were domestic travels within their own countries. Popular destinations were Europe (51%), Asia (22%) and the Americas (16%).
As the project’s website states, “The actions we take as tourists have consequences. Imagine the difference we could make by multiplying the right actions by one billion.” Through 1 Billion Tourists, 1 Billion Opportunities, UNWTO hopes to encourage visitors to buy local goods, while respecting local land and culture along with the use of local transportation, all of which will impact the destination greatly.
So next time your rushing past a group of camera happy vacationers, just think of the benefits their visit, and their money, has on our great city. I’m sure it’ll place a smile on your face.
Images taken from Business Insider and UNWTO