A world-class tennis tournament translates into millions for the travel space
The time has arrived for the last Grand Slam of the year! That’s right, the world acclaimed US Open Tennis tournament is just a week away and fans from all over the world are getting ready to travel to New York City for this special event.
As a Mallorca based company, naturally we are expecting our very own homegrown talent to win in the Men’s final: Rafael Nadal hails from our local town of Manacor!
But the real champion has long since been crowned. Year-in, year-out the local travel & tourism is by far the real winner. Last year alone, the US Open drove over 700,000 tennis fans from across the globe and employed approximately 7,000 people: its economic impact across the New York Metropolitan area is estimated to be around $800 million, according to the New York Times.
For hoteliers this event accounts for close to 16% of all New York City hotel bookings during the two weeks of tennis play, according to AM New York. That’s 16% of bookings in a city with one of the highest amounts of hotel accommodation in all of America.
The chosen date for events such as the US Open are often influenced by tourism boards, who are keen to boost low- or shoulder-season tourist arrivals; in this case, August in New York is definitely the shoulder-season and helps to give a head start to one of New York City’s busiest travel seasons of the year.
For Hotelbeds Group, New York City is the second most booked destination through the Group’s platform and falling second only to Orlando, the home to Walt Disney World©, Universal Orlando Resort™ and SeaWorld® Orlando - and also the home to Hotelbeds Group’s regional offices, where we employ over 500 employees.
New York City is also home to some of our top products provided by our world class Ancillary Bank, whose leadership structure was recently confirmed. Big Bus Tours, Multiple Attraction City Passes (CityPASS, Explorer Pass, New York Pass), Broadway Shows, Statue of Liberty Tours, and the One World Observatory, are just a few of the numerous products available through our combined platform, as a result of the integration of the ancillary offerings coming from our Tourico Holidays, GTA, and Hotelbeds brands.
But the benefit to the travel & tourism sector is not just about the fans, tennis professionals, or business executives using the event for corporate entertainment. This year the US Open Tennis is celebrating its 50th year and it is without a doubt one of the most watched tennis events worldwide.
That’s 50 years of promoting New York as a desirable destination. How many people has the tournament inspired to plan a visit? No doubt there is a spike in visitors from nations whose players lift a trophy.
