Florida sees record visitor numbers

Florida is celebrating a record number of visitors during the first nine months of 2017 when more than 88 million arrived in the Sunshine State.

Speaking at Florida Huddle this week, Visit Florida CEO Ken Lawson said the tourism body was much more optimistic than a year ago when the government was threatening to withdraw its tourism funding.

In an exclusive interview with TravelMole MD Graham McKenzie, Lawson said: "We are in a different place. Last year was about survival, there was a question about whether Visit Florida would be fully funded. Since the government and legislature decided to fund Florida at $76 million, we have been kicking tail."

Following the hurricanes that struck Florida towards the end of last year, causing extensive damage to parts of the Keys, Lawson said more money had been pumped into its winter campaign to highlight the fact that entire state is ‘open for business’.