Broadway shows saw a 17% decrease in attendance for the 2022-23 season compared to 2018-19, the last full season before the COVID pandemic. A new survey found that a significant reason for this dip is “safety concerns” from suburban residents who would otherwise travel to Manhattan for a show.

Broadway League reported last month that 12.3 million tickets were sold last season, much fewer than the previous non-pandemic year. New Yorkers make up 35% of show attendees, with city residents accounting for 22%. Visitors from other areas of the country make up 47.5% of the audience, per the report.

The Broadway League declined to comment on the numbers, as The New York Post reported. “We do not speculate generally about the numbers,” company spokesperson Scalla Jakso responded to the request.

The Situation Group conducted a survey of 1,700 Broadway ticket buyers nationwide, the outlet noted, and found that 50% of suburbanites haven’t returned to Broadway due to “concerns about safety.” Also, 41% of suburb dwellers said, “I travel to Manhattan for pleasure less often than I did in 2019.”