The tourism industry is accounting for many New York jobs.
A new report by Empire State Development revealed that 672,000 New York jobs, or 6 percent of all the state’s employment, were created by the tourism industry in 2007. The report noted visitors spent $51 billion in the local economy during the year. The study was commissioned by the state Department of Economic Development’s Division of Tourism.
Much of the industry’s increase was the result of overseas and Canadian visitors traveling to New York as a because of a favorable exchange rate. Overseas visitors spent 15 percent more in New York in 2007 than in 2006. Canadians’ spending was up 11 percent in 2007 when compared to 2006. Foreign spending represented 28 percent of all visitor spending in 2007.
As of July 2008, New York’s leisure and hospitality industry employed 709,900 people, an increase of 1.1 percent from last year, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The industry contributes $44 billion to the state’s gross domestic product, according to an article by Buffalo Business First. Tourism also generated $6.8 billion in state and local taxes in 2007.
State officials have been planning to expand marketing for New York tourism, and plan to spend $60 billion by 2020 on marketing the state’s tourist spots.
The leisure and hospitality industry nationwide employed 13,670,000 people in August 2008, according to the BLS. The industry saw an unemployment rate of 8.7 percent, with 470,000 job openings and 968,000 hires.
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