Florida’s Tourism Industry Achieves A New Record In Visitors

VISIT FLORIDA estimates a record 137.6 million visitors for 2022 – a 5% increase over the previous best in 2019. In the last quarter of 2022, 33.2 million travelers visited Florida.

Florida’s tourism industry has experienced 21 consecutive months of growth in domestic visitation.

“We could not be more excited with the impressive record-breaking visitation seen in 2022,” said Dana Young, VISIT FLORIDA CEO. “Quarter after quarter, Florida continues to dominate the travel market”, he says.

International tourism has increased faster in Florida than other parts of the nation but remains below pre-pandemic levels, state tourism officials said this week.

In all, Florida had about 7.02 million overseas visitors in 2022, up 73 percent from 2021 but 28 percent below the 9.801 million in 2019, the new quarterly estimate indicates.

“While there still is a way to go, Florida is significantly outperforming the rest of the nation (in international travel), which is down a whopping 39.9 percent,” Young told members of the Visit Florida Board of Directors during a meeting at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. “So, what we’re doing is working, and we’re going to continue to be focused on this upward trajectory.”

With a market share of 44.6 percent, Florida surpassed all other states in attracting international tourists. New York, which had been the top destination for international travelers for a long time, received approximately 22 percent of the market.

“This is a huge strategic advantage that we’ve built from hard work during these difficult years,” Young said. “For the rest of the country, Florida was open, and we have seized on that. So, now our challenge is to maintain these advantages, maintain these market-share wins and not take our foot off the gas.”