Florida Sets New Record for Tourist Visits in First Quarter
The latest statistics from VISIT FLORIDA also indicate a new domestic visitor record at approximately 29.15 million, which was 8.5% over the total posted in the first quarter of 2017.
TALLAHASSEE, FL—The State of Florida enjoyed a record number of visitors in the first quarter of this year. The Sunshine State saw more than 33.2 million visitors to the Sunshine State in the first three months of this year.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott notes that the first quarter visitor total represented a 7.4% increase from the same period last year and demonstrates the economic momentum that has been building in the state.
“Since December 2010, Florida has created more than 1.5 million jobs, and a large part of this growth is because of the incredible success of our state’s tourism industry,” he adds.
The latest statistics from VISIT FLORIDA also indicate a new domestic visitor record at approximately 29.15 million, which was 8.5% over the total posted in the first quarter of 2017. Both the Scott administration and VISIT FLORIDA have made efforts to increase Canadian tourism, and in the first quarter there were 1.4 million visitors from north of the border, an increase of 2.5% from a year earlier.
Overseas visitation to the state was the only market segment to decrease from last year. In the first quarter of this year, there were nearly 2.7 million overseas travelers visiting Florida, a slight decline of 0.7% from the first quarter of 2017.
Ken Lawson, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, says, “This record setting quarter of 33.2 million visitors to our state, the largest quarter in our state’s history, shows that VISIT FLORIDA is marketing our state like never before. With the help of our 12,000 industry partners, we saw a historic 7.4% increase over last year, which is fantastic news.
In 2017, there were approximately 16.5 million people who visited Florida, a 3.6% increase from 2016. Domestic visitation grew by 4.5% and the number of visitors from Canada rose 4%. Overseas visitation fell 4.3% for the year.
Total enplanements at Florida’s 18 major airports in the first quarter of this year rose 7.6% over the same period the previous year, with Orlando International Airport reporting the most enplaned passengers at nearly 6 million. Of total enplanements, 80.1% were domestic, up 1.4 million compared to last year. The number of rooms sold and the hotel occupancy rate in the first quarter of this year also grew by 3.3% and 1.9% respectively as compared to the same period last year.
Other key data points released by VISIT FLORIDA showed that Georgia led all states, accounting for 9.6% of all domestic travelers to Florida last year. New York State came in at number two with an 8.5% market share, followed by Texas at 5.5% and Ohio and Pennsylvania each at 5.3%.
In May, the Scott administration reported that the state had gained 170,400 private-sector jobs in the past year and 8,300 new private positions in the month of April.
While the professional and services sector led the way with 39,400 new jobs in the past year, the leisure and hospitality industry came in a very respectable third with 34,100 new jobs during that 12-month period.