New York City welcomes record number of tourists in 2016

New York City seems to follow the expression, “Go big or go home.” And that’s exactly what the city will do whenit reaches a record-breaking 60.3 million visitors by the end of the year.

Based on seven consecutive years of travel and tourism data, New York will surpass the forecasted 59.7 million visitors by 600,000, according to an announcement by Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization for the city.

That means 1.8 million more people visited the Big Apple this year than in 2015.

It also means jobs. About 375,000 travel and tourism jobs exist in New York, which is a bump of 15,000 more jobs from last year, according to the data.

“More tourism means we have more people investing in New York City and are able to create more sustainable jobs for more people,” de Blasio said.

“We are the safest, most culturally rich, most exciting city in the country. Every time visitors come, they can experience something new,” Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen added. “We are focused on making sure the benefits of tourism stretch into every borough and every community.”

To boost winter tourism, NYC & Company unveiled “Nonstop NYC,” a program comprised of NYC Restaurant Week (Jan. 23-Feb.10), NYC Broadway Week(Jan. 17-Feb. 5), NYC Off-Broadway Week(Feb. 27-Mar. 12) and a new NYC Attractions Week (Jan. 17-Feb. 5).

During NYC Attractions Week, visitors and residents can receive two-for-one admission for tours, culture and performing arts at over 70 participants, including bus tours, museums, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York Water Taxi and One World Observatory, according to the announcement.

In the spirit of going bigger, NYC & Company forecasts approximately 61.8 million visitors in 2017 — including 48.7 million travelers from within the United States and 13.1 million international visitors.