Visit Florida: State Added 39,400 Tourism Jobs in Second Quarter

Florida tourism is on a roll. According to figures released Tuesday by Visit Florida, 21.2 million travelers came to the Sunshine State in the second quarter -- up 6.9 percent from the same period in 2010.

Preliminary estimates show a 5.3 percent increase in domestic visitors, a 17.3 percent increase from overseas market and an 18.4 percent increase in travel from Canada.

And there was good news on the job front as well,

Floridas tourism-related employment hit 1,029,600, up by 39,400 jobs, or 4 percent from a year ago.

Tourism is a cornerstone of the Florida economy and Im greatly encouraged by the continued increases in the number of visitors to the Sunshine State, said Gov. Rick Scott. Visitors create jobs for Floridians and tourism has been the leading industry in job creation every month this year.

Other positive indicators:

• Total enplanements at Floridas 14 major airports rose by 5 percent.
• Hotel occupancy rates were up 4 percentage points.
• Average daily room rates climbed 4.8 percent.
• The share of Florida residents taking in-state pleasure trips in the second quarter was 52.9 percent, resulting in an additional 5.6 million in-state trips.

Florida tourism has been steadily regaining market share since January 2011, outpacing the rest of the nation by more than 1 percent.The percent of rooms sold in Florida for the first two quarters of 2011 was up 6.9 percent compared with a 5.8 percent gain nationally.