International arrivals to New York are down as much as 93 percent, and the people and businesses of the city’s tourism industry are on the brink of collapse, the New York Times reported. The pandemic and the global travel restrictions introduced in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus have decimated the American tourism industry, taking with it the livelihoods of millions of people. The U.S. Travel Association, a trade group that promotes travel to and within the country, projects that the U.S. will see the number of international visitors plummet nearly 80 percent this year, to only 18.6 million, compared to 79 million arrivals last year. While that slump has been devastating for popular tourist destinations like Orlando and Los Angeles, nowhere in the U.S. is the impact more visible than in New York City, which drew more than 13.5 million international visitors last year. New York City has been for years the most popular big-city destination in the U.S. Now citizens from countries across the world — including Britain, China and Brazil, the three most important markets for tourists visiting New York — are banned from entering the country.
