No surprise that the long-time popular tourist destination of Florida is getting record numbers of visitors but in a clear indication that people are starting to travel again, many US destinations are reporting robust and sometimes record-breaking visitor numbers.
Washington, DC is also a popular visitor destination but even travel observers may be surprised to find spending there has grown to US$6 billion, up 6.2% from last year, according to data from the HIS Global Insight.
But then there’s other destinations that are also seeing more visitors such as Kentucky, where tourism accounted for $11.7 billion last year, according to Business First.
"Despite a tough economy, the Kentucky tourism industry continues to shine," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said in a news release. "These figures underscore the importance of tourism in Kentucky as well as in every community across the commonwealth."
Kentucky is known as the home of Abe Lincoln and it has many horse-related attractions, a zoo and a Louisville Slugger Museum among its top attractions. But unlike say, Orlando, it has no major theme parks.
But Florida’s tourism star perhaps shines brightest with 23.4 million visitors in the first three months of this year. That was an increase of 1.2% over the same time last year.
As the state’s No. 1 industry, tourism was responsible for welcoming 85.9 million visitors in 2011 that spent more than $67.3 billion, according to state figures.
By David Wilkening
