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Governor Ron DeSantis Announces All-Time Record Six-Month Visitation for Florida
Tallahassee, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida welcomed 68.9 million travelers from January through June of 2019, the highest number of visitors during any six months in Florida’s history. This record number represents a 5.6 percent increase over the same period in 2018 and includes 61.2 million domestic visitors, 5.2 million overseas visitors and 2.4 million Canadian visitors.
“Florida’s economy has grown this year as record amounts of travelers come to Florida to experience everything our beautiful state has to offer,” said Governor DeSantis. “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. We will continue to work to make sure that Florida remains the world’s premier vacation destination.”
“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 VISIT FLORIDA President and CEO Dana Young. “VISIT FLORIDA will continue to develop cutting edge marketing programs that highlight our state so that we can attract more visitors, create more jobs, and make Florida the world’s number one place to take a vacation. We appreciate Governor DeSantis for his leadership and support for Florida’s iconic tourism industry.”
VISIT FLORIDA estimates 29.6 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in the second quarter of 2019, reflecting a 5.8 percent increase over the same period last year. Preliminary estimates also show 2.57 million overseas visitors came to Florida in Q2 of 2019, and 946,000 Canadian travelers visited Florida between April and June of 2019, a 1.4 percent increase compared to the same period in 2018. Total enplanements at Florida’s 19 major airports grew by 5.5 percent, with a record 33.1 million enplaned passengers during quarter two of 2019.
The number of hotel rooms sold in Florida during quarter two of 2018 grew by 1.9 percent, and Florida’s average daily room rate (ADR) increased by 2.0 percent. Additionally, after receiving updated information for 2018’s visitation numbers, VISIT FLORIDA estimates the state welcomed a total of 127.0 million visitors during the year, nearly one million more than was previously reported.
To view additional Florida visitor data, go to visitflorida.org/resources/research.
*Preliminary estimates are issued 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Final estimates are released when final data are received for all estimates in the report.
