Big 2016 for Florida So Far, Hitting All-Time Tourism Record

Florida set a record in tourism after the second quarter,  welcoming 57.4 million visitors, the highest number of any six months in the state’s history.  

According to a Governor's Office press release issued Friday, in the second quarter of 2016, 27.3 million visitors came to the state, an increase of 3.1 percent.  The average number of direct travel-related jobs in quarter two of 2016 was also a record high, with 1,255,200 Floridians employed in the tourism industry -- up 4.3 percent over the year.

In making the announcement, Gov. Rick Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that Florida has continued our record-breaking success and welcomed the most visitors in Florida’s history over the first six months of the year. It’s exciting that we are starting the first half of 2016 off with back-to-back record quarters, which puts us on pace to reach our goal of 115 million tourists this year and $100 billion in visitor spending by 2020.

"In Florida, the health and safety of our visitors is a top priority and we look forward to welcoming even more visitors to the Sunshine State this year,” the governor said.
 
VISIT FLORIDA estimates 23.6 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in the second quarter of 2016, a 4.6 percent increase over the same period last year.
           
Will Seccombe, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA said, “The Florida tourism industry has a tremendous amount of momentum because every month we have millions of new visitors who are experiencing the best tourism product on earth and returning home to share their Florida memories with friends and family.”
 
Tourism and recreation taxable sales for Florida increased 6.1 percent year over year for January through April 2016 (the last reported month).  For quarter two of 2016, the average daily room rate (ADR) rose 1.4 percent and the demand in rooms sold grew 1.1 percent.
 
William D. Talbert, III, chair of the VISIT FLORIDA Board of Directors, said, "The success of Florida tourism is directly attributable to the strong alignment between VISIT FLORIDA and our tourism industry partners, and their continued investment in strengthening the state’s incredible tourism product.”