Rick Scott Announces Record Tourism in Florida

Submitted by Anonymous on May 15, 2014 - 12:17pm

Florida is a hub for tourists, but just how many have been to the Sunshine State this year?

On Thursday, Gov. Rick Scott announced that, according to preliminary estimates released today by VISIT FLORIDA, 26.7 million visitors came to Florida in the first quarter of 2014 (January-March), an increase of 2 percent over the same period in 2013.

This number is the the largest quarter for visitation Florida has ever experienced, exceeding the previous high of 26.2 million in the first quarter of 2013.

According to the data, 1.125 million Floridians are currently employed in the tourism industry -- up 3.5 percent from the same period in 2013.

Scott applauded the numbers as another indicator that Florida is on its way up in creating opportunities for its residents.

Todays news that we have another record quarter for visitation is great for Florida families," he said. "A growing tourism industry is vital to growing jobs in Florida, and creating an opportunity economy. We are off to a great start to reaching our goal of 100 million visitors to Florida this year.

VISIT FLORIDA estimated that 2.7 million overseas visitors and 1.5 million Canadians came to Florida in the first quarter of 2014, both of which are record highs and represent 1.8 percent and 1.6 percent increases over the first quarter in 2013.

Experiencing the largest quarter for tourism in our states history, including a record number of tourism-related jobs, proves that tourism continues to be a vital force in Florida, said Tammy Gustafson, chair of the VISIT FLORIDA board of directors. These records also emphasize the power of tourism as a way to sustain Floridas economic growth.

Florida tourism is maintaining strong momentum with all indicators up across the board for the quarter, said Will Seccombe, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. With occupancy, rooms sold, average daily room rate and tourism and recreation taxable sales all continuing to climb, we are well on our way to making Florida the No. 1 travel destination in the world.

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