New York City is the most-visited large city in the U.S. and has welcomed roughly 64.3 million travellers this year, hitting 97% of its record-setting 2019 visitation level of nearly 67 million.
Time Out reports NYC saw strong domestic travel (particularly from Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Boston and Los Angeles) who mostly stayed overnight here. The U.K. remains the largest source of international travelers at 1.1 million visitors in 2024. Following that is Canada with about 1 million visitors, then in decreasing order, France, Brazil, Italy, China, Germany, Mexico, Australia and Spain.
New York City. Hannah Busing/Unsplash photo
City tourism officials say they expect to surpass pre-pandemic levels by attracting 67.1 million visitors next year.
OFF THE BEATEN TRACK (MOSTLY) PLACES IN HAWAII
I see a lot of travel stories about Hawai’i, but I rarely find one I like as much as this piece from World Atlas, which looks at lesser-known, smaller towns visitors can check out for a weekend getaway. Most of us mainlanders don’t go to Hawai’i for a weekend, but the information is quite useful for anyone looking to visit quieter, fun places outside of the usual tourist spots.
I sat up and took notice as soon as I looked at this piece as it led off with a bit about Hanapepe, a small town on Kauai that’s one of my fave places in the Hawaiian islands, and one I’ll be visiting in a little more than a week! It also mentions Hawi on Hawai’i Big Island, which I enjoy quite a lot, as well as wonderful Lana’i City and lively, colourful Paia on Maui.
I would personally add a few other spots, including Haleiwa on O’ahu, Makawao on Maui and Hilo on Hawaii Big Island, which isn’t a getaway spot for island residents but likely would be for most visitors, who tend to settle down in sunny Kona. And also the entire island of Molokai, which I dearly love and which might be the ultimate Hawaiian getaway spot these days. If you do visit Molokai, keep in mind that most locals prefer to keep tourism to a minimum. If you go looking for Waikiki or Ka’anapali, you’ll be severely disappointed. But if you want a beautiful island with no traffic lights and a real, old-time feel, and if you’re willing to accept the fact that the local grocery stores aren’t exactly the Lahaina Safeway or the Honolulu Costco, you’ll probably love it.
HOW TO SAVE MONEY ON A TRIP TO MAUI
Makawao, Maui, Hawaii. Photo courtesy Hawaii Tourism Authority
Inflation has hurt a lot of North Americans, and that’s probably not helping the Hawaiian visitor economy. Complicating things is the extremely low Canadian dollar. I went to the bank in Toronto last week and it cost me $142 Canadian dollars to buy $100 U.S. dollars. Add in bank fees, and the fact that many goods in Hawai’i have to be imported from the mainland, and you’ve got a recipe for a potentially very expensive holiday.
But there are ways to save on a trip to the islands. Here’s a story I published a while back on how to visit Maui without breaking the bank. There are similar ways to save on the other islands, notably by avoiding high season (like now) and by staying away from the major tourist areas, or staying a little inland if you’re visiting Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. On Hawai’i Big Island, for example, you can usually find much better hotel deals in funky Hilo than you would in touristy Kona. On Kauai, look for family-friendly hotels around Kapa’a, versus highly popular Po’ipu.
And be sure to shop local to boost the local economy!
