On November 8, New York finally reopened its doors to foreign visitors. After 20 months of isolation due to Covid, with the famous “travel-ban” (travel ban), the United States has allowed nationals of 33 countries, including France, to return. For the occasion, Big Apple welcomed its visitors from the end of the world with a dream weather, a big blue sky, Indian summer temperatures, up to 21 degrees in the afternoon, and a big advertising campaign. in the subway and on the bus shelters, featuring a welcoming Statue of Liberty: “It is time for New York City” (il est temps).
And suddenly, we heard French, German, Italian, Portuguese (from Brazil) in Washington square, on 5th avenue, on the museum mile (the museum district), on Broadway on the Midtown side. The double-decker tourist buses have resumed their tours, still half empty, the first carriages have resumed service at the edge of central park. On Madison Square, opposite the Flat Iron Building, customers have multiplied to order lunch at Shake Shack Burger; a little higher, in front of the Empire State Building, the queues have reformed in front of the mythical skyscraper, whose average attendance from July to
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September was only 24% of that recorded two years ago, according to Empire State Realty Trust. This anticipates a rise to 60% in December and 90% in the third quarter of 2022.
“The success of outdoor dining”
The return of tourists is a real breath of fresh air for the metropolis, which was the first American destination for international bookings, just before the pandemic, according to the US Travel Association. In 2019, tourists to New York spent a record $ 47.4 billion, of which about 45% came from international visitors, according to Tourism Economics. In 2021, this spending is expected to reach only around $ 24 billion.
Because it is slowly that New York comes out of its lethargy. The city has changed. Many shops, stalls and restaurants have disappeared. In the East village, on the 8e street, almost one in three spaces is for rent. Mid-range fast food, like the Greek GRK, nail shops, postcard and paper stores, grocery stores have disappeared. The same goes for upscale neighborhoods. Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side also offers plenty of rental space. “The smallest store costs $ 20,000 per month, points out a French businessman, as customers prefer to order on the internet for fear of the virus, many prefer to throw in the towel.”
Another spectacular change: the ephemeral terraces that have transformed the face of Manhattan. 11,000 restaurants have joined in, creating 100,000 jobs, and arousing, as in Paris, the bad mood of residents, exasperated by the noise … Solid wood construction, plexiglass, magnifying glasses for decoration, ultra-heated mushrooms powerful, -very few Cop26 compatible-, but make “outdoor dining” possible in all weathers. “La Goulue has not been empty for months,” notes Bernard Collin, manager of this upscale French restaurant, inside and out, noon and night. The only difference compared to before, people dine earlier. Around 8:30 p.m. everything is over. ” Is that because with winter time, around 5:30 p.m., it is pitch black?
A ranunculus at $ 6 plus tax per unit
Big Apple’s latest striking development, prices have soared. New Yorkers complain about it a lot. The smallest take-out coffee is close to $ 5, organic milk in a 2-liter cap for $ 10, “daily bread” a simple baguette costs $ 4.15. As for flowers, their price has exploded. On Madison Avenue, in a chic boutique, buttercups are sold by the piece: $ 6 plus tax per unit, the price of a bouquet on this side of the Atlantic.
If the Europeans, the Brazilians return in numbers to New York, in planes packed to the brim (Air France has added additional flights), are still missing the Asian visitors, the Chinese in particular, who spend the most. In 2019, they contributed $ 3.3 billion to the $ 80 billion in tourism in the United States.
While waiting for their return, Big Apple is counting on its national visitors. Thanksgiving and the Christmas holidays herald numerous visits to a metropolis, still untouched by the fourth wave, and where controls remain strict, with mandatory PCR-test before the theft and control of the health pass and identity document at the airport. entrance to each public place. This week, the authorities have decided to offer the recall to all adults who wish. Convalescent, still groggy by a murderous Covid in 2020, New York is gradually opening up.
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