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Tourism Notes for NYC

Coronavirus Latest for Tourism

Hudson Yards Elle Streetart HYxOffTheWall 2.0.

New Hudson Yards mural. By Elle Streetart as part of HYxOffTheWall 2.0.

This week, New York state's Covid-related hospitalizations dropped to 418, with 109 New Yorkers in ICUs—the lowest numbers we've seen since March. The lead up to Labor Day sees plenty of reopenings: Edge is back today after its star turn on the VMAs last weekend. ARTECHOUSE, the Whitney, and Poster House return tomorrow, followed by the Morgan this weekend. Times Square boutique Sanctuary Hotel reopened yesterday and the Equinox Hotel New York is back in Hudson Yards today. Gyms are also back today, speeded along by an initial run of virtual inspections.

The CBRE Group sees fresh indicators of market recovery in lodging. They project the road back begins in the third quarter. Accordingly, 2021 could be an epic year for travel. Abbott Laboratories's new rapid coronavirus test takes 15 minutes and costs $5. It could be a game changer for travel.

As the Times put it yesterday, "if you’re worried about Covid-19, at this point New York is one of the safest places in America." Not exactly the fiery hellscape some have suggested this week. Enjoy the long weekend!

Links of Interest

frieze 2020

NYC
Frieze Sculpture returns to Rockefeller Center (above).

The Met Museum will be operating at a loss because of capacity restrictions. (But if you bike there, you can take advantage of free valet bicycle parking this month.) Here's what it's like to visit there now.

Revel scooters are back on the streets with new safety measures.

NBA players leverage use of Madison Square Garden as a polling site. (Barclaystoo.)

NATIONAL
American Airlines cuts half its October flights.

What travel will look like one year from now, part one and part two.

How F&B is changing in the age of COVID-19.

An ADARA Traveler Trends Tracker video for HSMAI (Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International).

TRENDS
Google expedites contactless guest systems for hotels via Google Assistant and Nest Hub.

CLOSING TIME
STA Travel is no more, after 41 years.

Sala One Nine says adios in the Flatiron.

Williamsburg beer garden The Well runs dry.

august commercial burger king

Everything to Do NYC Facebook Group Post of the Week

City Guide's Facebook Group Everything to Do NYC brings together 7,500 passionate New Yorkers. The group provides "information you can't get from a website": on-the-ground dispatches about what's really going on. The interactions are a great barometer of the city in addition to being an opportunity to raise venue profiles: people want to know where they can go and what they can see. There's a lot of engagement, like the 80 comments this recent post generated:

I just moved back to nyc after 15 years of living in fl.
What is there to do out here?

There was a little New York edge in the responses, acknowledging some of the precariousness of the current moment. There were also some great suggestions, running from the High Line to the Aquarium to the Bronx Botanical to the giant gorilla sculpture in Hudson Yards to the ferry to Astoria for the Welling Court Mural Project. Check out the full response hereOther recent posts provide insight into what locals and visitors are thinking.


Want more on New York City tourism? Sign up for our free weekly Tourism Happenings newsletter. Just drop a line to ewolff@davlermedia.com.

About the Author

Ethan Wolff is the author of numerous guidebooks to New York, having covered the city for more than two decades. He has written for New York Magazine, BlackBook, and Details, among others. In addition to his work as the editor of City Guide, Ethan covers NYC’s talk and lecture scene for the website Thought Gallery. He lives with his wife and two daughters in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn.

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