Aug 25, 2026
Economic Impact of Visitors in New York State 2025
NYS Welcomed 321.2 Million Visitors, Up 5.8 Million Year-over-Year
Visitor Spending Increased $3.6 Billion Year-over-Year to $97.6 Billion
Empire State Development / I LOVE NEW YORK has released a Tourism Economics report with official New York State visitation and visitor spending statistics for 2025. The report details surprisingly positive results despite significant geopolitical challenges to international visitation in 2025 vs 2024.
- Visitor spending grew 3.9% statewide, surpassing the rate of inflation; 10 of New York's 11 vacation regions experienced YoY increases.
- New York's visitor economy drove $48.8 Billion in direct, indirect and induced personal income for people employed in New York State. Essentially, fifty cents of every dollar visitors spent ultimately ended up in a paycheck.
Ross D. Levi, Executive Director / Vice President, NYS Division of Tourism / Empire State Development said: "Overall, tourism in New York State for 2025 reached record level highs thanks to continued growth in domestic travel. The strength of that sector was largely able to offset a drop in international travelers, led by significant losses in travel from Canada, New York's biggest international market. Were it not for factors like the chaotic and harmful federal tariff policies and the resulting political rhetoric that drives down visitor sentiment, the tourism numbers may have been even stronger.
Tourism is big business for New York - as the report illustrates, the economic impact of the industry is over $150 billion, and tourism remains the state's second largest private industry, supporting one in every nine jobs. The drop in Canadian travelers disproportionately impacts border communities and the vacation regions that rely heavily on those visitors. I LOVE NY and the state's tourism industry have worked creatively and tirelessly to combat headwinds not of our making by promoting the state to Canada and other international markets and will continue expressing love for our neighbors north of the border and appreciation for our longstanding friendship."
Corey Fram, Director of Tourism, 1000 Islands International Tourism Council, offered this perspective from a destination on the Canadian border: "Canadians traditionally account for around 15% of visitor spending on the New York side of our destination. Visa sales data for Canadian visitors, which we access through our provider/partner Rove, indicated a 57% decline in 2025 compared to 2024. For Jefferson County and other New York State destinations on the Canadian border, efforts to drive strong domestic demand largely mitigated these dramatic declines in 2025. We are now experiencing better-than-expected Canadian visitor spending performance year-to-date in 2026. I am confident that New York State will continue to grow the visitor economy."
"These figures confirm what we see happening every day in our local communities," stated Cassandra Majestic, Board Chair of the New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA). "Travel and tourism remain one of New York’s most powerful economic engines. Beyond record-setting spending, these results represent real opportunities—thriving main streets, good-paying jobs, and essential support for local businesses across every region of our state. As we look ahead, NYSTIA remains committed to leveraging these strong momentum numbers to foster sustainable, vibrant local economies for both visitors and the residents who call New York home."
The complete reports for New York State and each vacation region are available on the Empire State Development website. View Full Reports
Source: Tourism Economics*, commissioned by Empire State Development / I LOVE NEW YORK