In Lower Manhattan, a complicated relationship exists between the people who work there, the local businesses and the tourists who invade the area to see important sites like Wall Street, Battery Park, the Bowling Green Bull and the World Trade Center site.
On one hand the tourists can be a nuisance, blocking sidewalks and insistently asking for directions to navigate New York City’s confusing streets. But the visitors also bring some much needed money into the city’s economy, which has suffered during the recent economic downturn. Many who work downtown have come to realize that they must take the bad with the good.
According to NYCgo.com, despite the recent economic slump, tourism as a whole is still looking up. They said that the total number of visitors in 2011 was 50.9 million; this is the highest it has ever been. Additionally the direct visitor spending in 2011 is up to 34.5 billion from 31.5 in 2010, and is also at an all-time high.
Although these numbers seem to indicate that the economy of tourism in New York City is improving, some downtown businesses say that tourism has actually taken a turn for the worse in the recent years.
“Instead of people coming in and just going to see everything they will sort of pick and choose things that they want to do”, said Charles Davis 43, a concierge for the Millennium Hotel located at 55 Church Street. “They will also always look for the cheaper option as well”.
He said that the time the average customer will spend in the hotel has gone down. “We get a lot more day trippers like one or two day trips” he said.
However not all businesses in the area are willing to give in to the fact that their sales will go down due to the poor economy, instead they get creative and find ways to keep the register ringing despite the challenge of the poor economy.
Adrian Marquis a sales consultant for a money changing business called Travelex Services which is located at 29 Broadway said. “We make our numbers every month”. “We offer value packs and we help our customers”.
Value pack to this money changing place mean that if you exchange a certain amount, then the overall price will be lower. Most of their customers are tourists who are looking to exchange their own currency to U.S Dollars.
While businesses do their best to keep the tourists flowing through the city. On the other hand office workers find tourists to be a source of nuisance and irritation, as they slowly meander down the street or down the steps of the subway platform as the train is pulling away from the station. But others can look past the annoyance and the great economic upside the tourists offer.
“I think overall they are good. They help the economy and I guess I don’t think they make that big of a difference” said Josh Martin, 23, a worker at a tourist information booth near the Bowling Green subway station. “People say they get in their way, they don’t know there way around”.
“I understand that tourism is important to bring in revenue to the city sales taxes and all of that. They come and they spend money,” David Roberts, 30, who is a teller for the Chase bank, located at 80 Broadway. “From a personal perspective I guess at times as you get a little bit irritated at the kind of on the sidewalks on the streets kind of slow moving, they’re on vacation and were trying to get to work on time”.
“I think tourism is good for the economy when you have a city like New York where it does depend on a lot of tourism to generate a lot of dollars it creates jobs, economically yeah tourism is great. Even though it gets on your nerves you still have to be nice,” Jamal Davis,29, a cashier who has been working for Giuliano’s pizza and deli, on 88 Broad Street, for 9 years.
“Personally, it sucks I mean it’s great in a city like New York where you can you know where all this is business is created from tourism but at the same time, its why New York city never sleeps, everyone is always getting to work and mean while you’re on the side walk and bumping in to tourists and they just stop in the middle of nowhere and look around at their iPhone or at their map”.
“Personally every time I stand out here for a cigarette someone always comes over to me and asks me for direction, how do you assume that I know where you are going? But you know you try to be nice”.