New York, New York: According to Delta executives, the Big Apple is back.

Calling it a comeback is only appropriate when referring to the tourists.

The demand for travel to New York City has significantly increased, according to executives from Delta Air Lines during this week's earnings call.

The airline's president, Glen Hauenstein, said at the conference that "New York was not back last year, and of course, we have a lot of exposure to New York." This year, though, everything changed.

"We're seeing really good New York [demand] not only as an origin market improvement but New York as a destination market improvement as well," said Hauenstein.

In answer to a question on the demand for business travel, Hauenstein said that even while the tech sector is struggling, employees in the financial services sector have been traveling more on company business this year.

However, he added that signs of a strong recovery in the New York market have also been seen in leisure travel, particularly among high-yield leisure travelers who spend extra for extra legroom, premium economy, domestic first class, and international business class.

What's especially intriguing, according to Hauenstein, is the lack of distinctions between corporate and high-yield leisure yields before the epidemic.

The airline is not the only one to notice an increase in visitors coming back to New York.

According to Fred Dixon, president, and chief executive officer of New York City Tourism and Conventions, the city's official tourism organization, tourism has steadily increased since its pandemic-era lows.

"In 2022, we welcomed a total of 56.7 million visitors," Dixon added. "We recovered roughly 85% of our record 2019 visitation levels." "Overall visitation is projected to hit 63.3 million in 2023 and should surpass record levels in 2019 by 2024," according to the report.

These 2022 values represented an increase of 72.5% from 2021.

This summer, more people are likely to travel overall. Approximately 75% of the seats on Delta's summer international flights, according to Hauenstein, have already been reserved; but, domestic reservations are "significantly less than that."

Stay tuned to us for the most recent airfare and hotel offers as well as summer travel advice if you want to take a trip this summer but haven't made a reservation yet.