new york and tourism

New York is one of the largest cities in the United States. The massive scale of the state is due to the high number of economic activities that provide the city with a source of income that encourages development. The city drew 35 million visitors in 2002. However, the figure has increased to 52 million due to the increasing economic and tourist destinations in the city. New York boasts several landscapes that promote both domestic and international tourists, resulting in accelerated revenue growth in the tourism industry. The most attractive features in the city include Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, and the Empire State Building. The sceneries have other beautiful spots in the form of museums, zoos, and exhibits among others. The tourist destinations provide unique lessons for the country about the history of the land attracting more people into the country. Economically, New York uses the tourism sector in raising funds used in growing the city as well as employment for the residents. Tourism in the state facilitates the expansion of the travel sector due to consumption of gasoline by the tourists as well as growth in the hospitality sector where the vacationers seek accommodation. Therefore, tourism is one of the most significant income generating activities in the state of New York. Development of TourismDuring the early 1990s, the number of visitors in the country stood at 29 million. However, most of the tourists were domestic ones. The remainder of the tourists originated from countries such as Germany, France, and Brazil among others (Singh, 2009). During the time, the amount of revenue generated from the sector was ten billion dollars. With time, the industry began growing with visible changes in the number of people as well as the generated income. The city improvised on the mode of transport for the visitors such as the double-decker buses and horse cabs, which facilitated the movement of tourists. The increase in the manner of transportation signified an increase in the number of tourists visiting the country at any given time. As a method of attracting more tourists, the city provided the tourists with massive discounts at various destinations (Bråthen, 2016). The cuts boosted the influx of tourists in the country. In 2010, as other parts of the world were facing recession, the city was increasing the number of hospitality services for the tourists. In the year, the state increased the number of hotel rooms by 6,600. The increase translated to growth in the income as well as the creation of job opportunities for the people. The growth of tourism in the city follows the life cycle theory created by Butler (Management Association and Information Resources, 2015). According to the theory, a small number of people discover an attractive destination while searching for adventure. After identifying the place, they visit the destination frequently raising the curiosity of the local people. After noticing the foreigners in the location, the locals set up businesses that provide basic needs for the visitors in the form of food and accommodation. As the time passes, bigger companies start realizing the potential held by the region and begin investing by building bigger hotels and facilities for the tourists. In the meantime, the income generated from the tourists improves, and the new investments attract more customers who feel that the services befit their status and comfort. Butler goes ahead to explain that the development of the place creates employment opportunities leading to population growth. In the consolidation stage, most of the people earn a living directly from tourism or other activities related to tourism. After getting to the peak, the investments suffer from competition, which reduces the income in the business and makes the stakes unproductive. Currently, New York enjoys large revenue from tourism. In the year 2015, the country hosted 55 million tourists from all over the world raising the income to 45 billion dollars, which is an all-time high for the state. Factors that Attract Tourist in New YorkNew York has many attractive types of scenery that tourists find as an excellent destination (O'Connor, Flanagan and Gilbert, 2010). Such places include the statue of liberty and the empire state building. Apart from the landscapes, the tourists enjoy the rich musical culture in the country. Various famous locations such as the East Village perform the cultural music for the tourists. New York City has many tour guides who take the tourists n walking tours around the city. Walking tours assist the tourists to access any destination without having to hasten as the case with using a car or any other form of transport. The unique methods of guiding the tourists give them better chances to explore various destinations with ease. More so, many hotels in the state offer right cultural foods. The diversity of the foods provided by the hotels ensures that the tourists access whichever type of food they need. For some tourists, eating foods that are similar to that consumed at home makes them comfortable. In New York, the accessibility of the foods makes them comfortable and increases the number of tourists immensely. The city has many sporting activities for the visitors. Tourists enjoy gaming activities in locations such as Yankee Stadium and City field. For the tourist interested in films, the theatres in the city provide memorable movie experiences that are unique. The Push/Pull factor by Danns explains that many tourists visit various destinations for vacation and enjoyment of foreign culture (Bowen & Clarke, 2009). Many of the tourists in New York visit the country during holiday seasons. The destination allows them to relax after an extended period of work while enjoying the cultural diversity in the country. The Wanderlust theory generated by Gray explains tourist’s behavior as a pure curiosity of visiting new places. The tourists leave their countries to break the monotony created by their daily environment in school and at home. The new settings entertain the tourists to the point of coming back to the country to explore the culture further. The tourism industry in the state capitalizes on the theory by offering the tourists a chance to walk around the city while accompanied by the guides. The act ensures the tourists cure their curiosity by visiting all the places they desire. Besides, the Plog’s allocentric theory explains the tourist influx as the need for adventure. The scholar states that tourists use the adventurous activities to build their confidence and meet new people. However, some of the tourists are psychocentrics. Such tourists prefer visiting familiar places and enjoying previous foods and events (Prideaux and Carson, 2010). The theory explains why new tourists visit the states as well as the reasons behind the return of tourists to the country; however, the diversity of tourists’ attraction activities in New York ensures the tourists return to the state due to the enjoyed activities. Entertainment IndustryTourism in the state of New York gave rise to many industries, which provide the visitors with entertainment throughout their stay. The entertainment industry in the country has many amusement parks, theatres where the tourists can watch movies and music venues where the tourists enjoy music from various cultures all over the world. The diversity in entertainment ensures the tourists get many activities to choose (Hughes, 2013). After a whole day of visiting tourist destinations within the city, most tourists look for entertainment sports to relax in the evening. Therefore, the entertainment joints keep the tourists busy and help them to relax and wait for the following day. Features such as the empire state building provide the customers with a platform where they can see the city from elevated positions. In the same building, there are museums with artifacts that explain the historical origin of the people in the country. Further entertainment venues include the stadia where the tourists can enjoy many games. The entertainment industry takes many forms in the city. All the ways of entertainment keep the tourists happy and ensure they market the town to their friends back at home by narrating their experiences in the land. The diversity in entertainment explains the growing number of foreign tourists as well as the growth in income from the industry. The Broadway Industry is an example of the entertainment enjoyed by the tourists. Every year, the theatres in Times Square attract millions of visitors who enjoy a wide range of entertainment from the organizers of the event. One of the models of entertainment is the box office movies. The Broadway league provides the data used to stream the movies on the massive screens in the theaters. The theatres use the opportunity to increase their income through the sales made on the tickets and refreshment offered to the tourists during the movies. Apart from the box office movie, the tourists enjoy blockbuster performances of music. The music played does not discriminate on any cultural origin. The tourists dance to the tunes of various cultures all over the world and especially those in the United States. More so, the theatres are a platform for cultural plays performed for the tourists. Tourism in the city promotes cultural events in the form of music and plays. The revenue generated encourages the industries and ensure growth in the number of tourists forming the audience (Dwyer, Forsyth and Dwyer, 2010). Broadway Industries require a high amount of financial expenditure to promote. Therefore, lack of interesting material would make the tourists avoid the theatres leading to losses and the ultimate closure of the business. However, the entertainment is top notch leading to higher attendance from them. Sustainable TourismSustainable tourism is evident in New York especially in the growth of the income, tourists’ facilities and reduction in the rate of unemployment. In 2010, the city of New York did not experience inflation such as the other states in the country. The resistance to inflation is due to continued income from tourism, which generated enough funds to keep the city operational efficiently. In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the city of New York generated $34 million, $38 million and $41 million respectively. The escalating amounts of revenue generated indicate a growth in the number of tourists. The growth is due to the extensive marketing of the tourists’ destination and exceptional services offered by the hospitality facilities. In 2015, the demand for accommodation grew by 2.6%. Therefore, the revenue rose by 2.1% from the increased demand. The airports recorded a growth of 5.9% from the sale of tickets made to the tourists. Apart from generating income for the government, tourism employed an additional 2.2% and a profit of $33.1 billion in the form of salaries (Tourism Economics, 2015, p. 4). The sustainability of tourism in the country shows positive results to the city as well as the residents. Currently, the income generated both directly and indirectly by tourism is above $130 billion per year. Doxey’s Irridex model outlines the positive impact of tourism in a region. The theory states that a community goes through small changes before accessing the bigger changes. In New York, the initial profit was small; however, the profits increased leading to the growth of infrastructure and the industry in general. The growth seeks to grow the capacity of the city in hosting the tourists. As the capacity increases, the industry can generate more income and provide higher employment opportunities for the people. However, the growth is gradual with the installation of the necessary infrastructure to match the growing number. Such infrastructures include the transport system, the hospitality industry and capacity of the entertainment theatres. If the size of the tourism industry is not under keen observation, the Gunns theory explains that it might hurt the industry. For example, if tourists travel to the state and fail to secure accommodation as well as the desired food, the visitors will not visit the country in huge numbers due to the fear of disappointment (Ivanova, 2017). Maintaining the high number of tourists requires investment in the necessary infrastructure that supports the tourism activities in the land. Tourists visit countries with the right infrastructure and tourism facilities that meet their expectations hence the need for sustainable tourism. ConclusionTourism is one of the biggest income earners for the state of New York. The gradual growth of the industry was due to the discounted prices, the diversity in cultural activities and entertainment as well as the availability of food and accommodation. Tourists in the country walk all over the streets visiting essential icons such as the statue of liberty and the empire state building. The destinations provide the tourists with entertainment as well as lessons on the traditional cultural practices of the people preserved as artifacts. Because of the tourist activities, the city generates billions of dollars from the millions of tourists that visit the country on a daily basis. The income generated improves the lives of the people in the form of employment and growth of the economy in the state. Many tourists find the city as a right place for relaxing and the diverse activities used in entertainment captivate the minds of the tourists leading to a more prominent visit in the future. Therefore, New York is a state that enjoys huge income from tourism activities. Various investment efforts seek to improve the available infrastructure to meet the expectation of the tourists to avoid discouraging them. Sustainable tourism is an essential aspect of tourism that increases the infrastructure used by the tourists to avoid overstretching the available resources.ReferencesBowen, D. & Clarke, J. (2009). Contemporary tourist behaviour : yourself and others and tourists. Wallingford, UK Cambridge, MA: CABI.Bråthen, S., 2016. Air Transport Provision in Remoter Regions. Routledge.Dwyer, L., Forsyth, P. and Dwyer, W., 2010. Tourism economics and policy (Vol. 3). Channel View Publications.Hughes, H., 2013. Arts, entertainment and tourism. Taylor & Francis.Ivanova, M.G., 2017. Air transport–tourism nexus: A destination management perspective. Zangador.Management Association and Information Resources. (2015). Hospitality, travel, and tourism : concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. Hershey, Pennsylvania (701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Hershey, Pa., 17033, USA: IGI Global.O'Connor, N., Flanagan, S. and Gilbert, D., 2010. 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