New York's economic landscape is displaying varied signs of health according to recent reports from Crain's New York and Bloomberg. The growth exhibited amongst the city's largest privately held companies stands in stark contrast to the mixed bag of results seen in the tourism sector. Crain's New York documented a broad 15% average revenue increase for these companies from 2022 to 2023, suggesting a robust economic upturn that added approximately $208.9 billion to the local economy and employed over 171,000 workers.
Construction, architecture, and engineering companies took the lead, with STO Building Group emerging far ahead with an 7% increase in revenue, reporting $11.1 billion in 2023, according to Crain's New York. However, not all sectors fared equally, with Wiz, a cloud security platform, experiencing a meteoric 400% revenue spike, while Trammo Inc. saw its revenue plummet by nearly 52%.
In the realm of tourism, the figures are promising but not without their caveats. Bloomberg highlighted that the tourism sector in New York City has managed to generate a record $4.9 billion in tax revenue, a number bolstered by the recovery of the domestic visitor market. Last year, the city welcomed 62.2 million people, a 16% surge from 2020. Domestic travelers have been particularly active, with their numbers exceeding 2019 levels by 7%.
Bloomberg's coverage also points to a slower return of international and business travel—a trend that Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is keenly watching. "The industry’s full recovery won’t be complete until we see a full return of international and business travelers," DiNapoli expressed. "Our city and state leaders need to focus on keeping New York a desirable and safe destination for individuals and families from around the world," as reported by Bloomberg. Despite a drop from 2019's visitation figures, the report from the state Comptroller suggests a positive outlook with forecasts indicating a potential surpass of pre-pandemic tourist levels by 2025.
