Come and Meet Those Dancing Feet

I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, “There’s no place like New York. It’s the most exciting city in the world now. That’s the way it is. That’s it.

– Robert De Niro

After nine weeks in New York City, avoiding Times Square like the plague became second nature to me. In fact, the possibility of having to go anywhere from 42nd Street all the way up to 48th Street made me cringe. I would do everything in my power to avoid the area. Why? Because of the tens of thousands of tourists that clog the sidewalks. Do not get me wrong, Times Square is DEFINITELY a worthwhile experience; the skyscrapers, the ever-changing advertisements displayed on huge billboards, and the bright flashing lights is something that you could not imagine in your wildest dreams.

The atmosphere is exhilarating. There is so much going on around, one does not know what to do for a few minutes, besides just stand there in awe and take in this chaotic atmosphere where one cannot help but notice the number of tourists with their phones out taking photos; attempting to capture the essence of what Times Square is. In a way, it is very easy to spot these tourists, because chances are they have either a selfie stick, a bag from either the M&M world, Hershey store, or both, but most definitely taking photos in front of almost everything and anything.

According to a New York Times article written by Patrick McGeehan, “this summer, New York is on pace for its highest annual tally of tourists — nearly 67 million, according to the latest estimate from NYC & Company, the city’s tourism marketing agency.” McGeehan goes on to reference another article he wrote stating “that would be close to two million more visitors than the city claimed in 2018 and would be its 10th consecutive year of rising tourism, said Fred Dixon, the agency’s chief executive.” Though I was technically a tourist for the entire summer, I like to believe I did not give off the “tourist vibe,” making it known I was among the millions who flock to the City in the summertime.

In a City where the visitors keep coming in record numbers, how does one decipher who is a tourist and who is not? What really brings someone to a place like New York City as it relates to why they are here today? These two questions were of great interest to me throughout my time in New York, because while one could infer the reason as to why someone is in New York City today, there is no way of truly knowing.

To decipher the “what” as it relates to bringing someone to a place like New York and the “why” as it relates to someone being in the City today on one of my many outings to Central Park, I decided to do some research.

My research encompassed asking someone two simple questions; “why are you in New York City today?” and “if you could summarize it in one word, what would it be?”. Once I sat down and contemplated each interview, I found that almost half of my interviews related to people who were NOT from New York City, and were here for travel/tourism-related reasons. While I know that I cannot use these interviews to speak for the whole population of New York City, it was certainly interesting to find that most people I talked to where tourists. From this, I was able to use my findings to hone in on what major observations and takeaways I could have by the end of my time in the City.