Florida posts another first-half tourism record
It was yet another busy six months for Florida tourism.
The Sunshine State welcomed nearly 69 million arrivals in H1 2019, up 5.6% on last year’s record.
It was made up of 61.2 million domestic travelers and 7.6 million from overseas, including 2.4 million Canadians.
"The revenue generated by out-of-state visitation has kept taxes low while allowing us to invest in priorities like environmental protection, transportation and education," says Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"We will continue to work to make sure that Florida remains the world’s premier vacation destination."
The six-month figures were boosted by nearly 30 million Americans visiting the state in the second quarter, which is up nearly 6%.
"Back-to-back record quarters in the first six months of this year demonstrate that the Florida tourism industry has continued to produce results," said Dana Young, the president and CEO of Visit Florida.
"Visit Florida will continue to develop cutting edge marketing programs that highlight our state so that we can attract more visitors, create more jobs."
Hotel occupancy rose only slightly in the second quarter although average daily room rate increased by 2%.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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