Last year, the city made an economic contribution of more $31 billion, representing 20% of the city’s total GDP and recovering above 2019 levels by $2.7 billion.
The findings come for the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Cities Economic Impact Report, which analysed metrics across 82 cities around the world, including contribution to GDP, employment and traveller spend.
It studied the sector’s impact in Orlando, Las Vegas, Miami, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco, Washington D.C, Los Angeles and Honolulu.
Las Vegas followed Orlando as the second largest tourism market in the US with a direct GDP contribution of $23 billion last year, surpassing 2019 by 5.3%.
Miami made the top city destinations list with a tourism GDP comeback of $11.1 billion, which exceeded pre-pandemic contributions by 5%, despite a 56% drop in economic contribution from the sector in 2020.
New York City and Los Angeles also landed in the top rankings for 2022 with tourism GDPs valued at $21.1 billion and $11 billion respectively.
"It was a fightback year for cities across the country in 2022," said Julia Simpson, WTTC president and chief executive.
"Destinations like Orlando, Miami, Chicago and Las Vegas are back stronger than ever before thanks to the relaxation of pandemic restrictions and a strong rebound of consumer confidence."
