Florida’s tourism industry continues on a record-setting pace as the state announces another record quarter for visitors coming to the Sunshine State. It’s the 27th straight quarter in which the industry has broken a record for the number of visitors.
From the beginning of January through the end of September, Florida saw 95.8 million visitors, according to VISIT FLORIDA. It marks the highest number of visitors in any nine months in Florida’s history and represents a 6.7 percent increase over the 89.8 million visitors during the same period in 2017. This years numbers include 85 million domestic visitors, 8 million overseas visitors and 2.8 million Canadian visitors.
“I am proud to announce that Florida’s tourism industry is continuing to set records to help our state’s economic growth,” said Gov. Rick Scott. “Since December 2010, Florida has welcomed a record number of travelers for 27 quarters and had seven consecutive years of record visitation and visitor spending. Today’s announcement shows that 2018 is shaping up to be the most robust year for travel to Florida ever. I will never stop working to make Florida the number one global destination for visitors and job creation.”
The numbers released by VISIT FLORIDA show that a record 30.7 million visitors traveled to Florida in the third quarter of 2018. That’s an increase of 10.1 percent over the same period last year.
From July through September, 27.5 million domestic visitors, 2.7 million overseas visitors and 490,000 Canadian visitors to the Sunshine State.
This year’s record-setting pace follows last year’s 118.8 million record number of visitors, maintaining tourism as the state’s top industry.
“When I became VISIT FLORIDA President and CEO last year, I hit the ground running to ensure we were absolutely transparent, accountable and efficient in everything we did to promote our great state,” said Ken Lawson, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. “Today’s announcement is a testament to the hard work and determination of Governor Scott, the Florida Legislature, the VISIT FLORIDA Board of Directors, VISIT FLORIDA staff and our entire industry. Because of their commitment to tourism, Florida’s economy is booming.”
Based on the latest economic impact study, Florida visitors spent $112 billion and supported more than 1.4 million Florida jobs. According to the Office of Economic and Demographic Research, for every $1 the state invests in VISIT FLORIDA, $2.15 in tax revenue is generated.