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Gov. Scott: Florida Sets Another Tourism Record in 2017

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116.5 million visitors came to Florida in 2017

Governor Rick Scott today announced that Florida set another tourism record in 2017 by welcoming the highest number of visitors in any year in the state’s history with 116.5 million visitors, according to VISIT FLORIDA. This represents a 3.6 percent increase over the 112.4 million visitors in 2016.

Governor Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that Florida has continued our record-breaking success by welcoming more than 116 million visitors in 2017. Because of VISIT FLORIDA’s aggressive marketing efforts to make sure families across the world knew that Florida was open to visitors following Hurricane Irma, we are able to celebrate another record-breaking year for tourism. This is especially great news for the 1.4 million jobs that rely on our growing tourism industry. We will continue to market our state as the number one global destination for tourism.”

VISIT FLORIDA estimates that a record 116.5 million visitors traveled to Florida in 2017, an increase of 3.6 percent over last year. This number breaks down to 102.3 million domestic visitors, 10.7 million overseas visitors and 3.5 million Canadian visitors coming to the Sunshine State. Total enplanements at Florida’s 18 major airports in 2017 increased 4.1 percent over the same period the previous year, with 87.2 million passengers. The number of hotel rooms sold in Florida during 2017 grew by 4.6 percent compared to quarter four 2016. During the same period, Florida’s average daily room rate (ADR) increased by 2.6 percent and occupancy by 3.2 percent.

Ken Lawson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said, “Florida welcomed a record 116.5 million visitors in 2017, which is great news for our state. Because of the cutting-edge marketing programs at VISIT FLORIDA, particularly following Hurricane Irma, we were able to increase total visitation by 3.6 percent over last year, resulting in billions of dollars in revenue for the state. We are continuing to aggressively market the Sunshine State to the rest of the country and the rest of the world.”

Maryann Ferenc, Board Chair of VISIT FLORIDA, said, “I would like to offer gratitude to the Governor and the Legislature for funding VISIT FLORIDA, the VISIT FLORIDA team for their successful efforts, the tourism industry for creating a Florida that people want to visit and residents for creating the real welcome. Alignment at the local, state and national level have created prosperity in Florida!”

Carol Dover, President and CEO of Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA), said, “Given all the Sunshine State has to offer as a vacation destination, it comes as no surprise that each year, Florida continues to attract visitors in record numbers, however this welcomed outcome is incredible considering the tough year our state has faced in the wake of Hurricane Irma and validates the state’s sound investment in tourism marketing. FRLA salutes the diligent efforts of VISIT FLORIDA, as well as our hospitality industry partners, who work in concert to ensure Florida remains competitive as a leading global destination. Visitors are not only enjoying our hotels and restaurants, they’re simultaneously boosting state and local revenues, and supporting 1.4 million industry jobs across the state.”

Florida set another record despite losing 1.8 million visitors due to Hurricane Irma, according to a recent report commissioned by VISIT FLORIDA. The impact report of Hurricane Irma shows that it cost the state 1.8 million visitors. An estimated 34.9 million out-of-state visitors came to Florida in the final four months of 2017. In the “no hurricane” model, Florida would have hosted 36.7 million visitors during that same time period. Additionally, Irma resulted in a loss of $1.5 billion in visitor spending, with $1.1 billion attributable to domestic visitors and $400 million for international visitors. Visitation was hit hardest in September, with visitation falling 13.5 percent relative to anticipated growth. However, losses were drastically reduced by October, and even more so in the following months. VISIT FLORIDA’s Post-Irma Marketing Campaign helped curb the effects of Irma on visitation, with an estimated 358 million impressions in the month following Irma.

VISIT FLORIDA estimates that a record 28.5 million visitors traveled to Florida in the fourth quarter of 2017, an increase of 5.5 percent over the same period last year. This Q4 number breaks down to 25.0 million domestic visitors, 2.8 million overseas visitors and 705,000 Canadian visitors coming to the Sunshine State. Total enplanements at Florida’s 18 major airports in Q4 2017 increased 6.7 percent over the same period the previous year, with 21.7 million passengers. The number of hotel rooms sold in Florida during quarter four of 2017 grew by 8.1 percent compared to quarter four 2016. During the same period, Florida’s average daily room rate (ADR) increased by 5.4 percent and occupancy by 7.0 percent.

To view the full Hurricane Irma Impact Report, click HERE.

To view additional Florida visitor data, click HERE.

*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.

Gov. Scott: Florida sets another tourism record

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112.8 million tourists visited Florida in 2016

Governor Rick Scott announced today that Florida set another record in tourism by welcoming the highest amount of visitors in the state’s history with 112.8 million visitors in 2016. This is the sixth consecutive record year for visitation to Florida, exceeding the previous high of 106.6 million in 2015 by 5.9 percent. Tourism jobs also hit a record high in 2016 of 1.4 million jobs, exceeding the previous record in 2015.
Governor Scott said, “Today, I am proud to announce that Florida has once again welcomed a record number of tourists with 112.8 million visitors to the state in 2016. Visitors spent $109 billion and supported a record 1.4 million Florida jobs in 2016 – a testament to the vital importance of tourism to our growing economy.
“I have seen firsthand how tourism impacts our state. Since I have been in office, we have made important investments in VISIT FLORIDA and broken record after record of visitors, added more than a million new residents and seen Florida’s private sector create more than 1.25 million new jobs. Unfortunately, even with these incredible successes, politicians in the Florida House are trying to eliminate VISIT FLORIDA. I don’t understand how anyone can look at Florida’s booming tourism industry, and the more than 1.4 million jobs it supports, and vote to kill it. The legislation the Florida House is pushing puts more than 1.4 million jobs at risk and we cannot let that happen. We have to fight to continue investing in our tourism industry so we can keep breaking records and adding even more jobs.
“Over the past week, I have traveled the state meeting with small business owners, economic development leaders, tourism leaders, community members and hardworking Floridians who all had a clear message – Florida’s economy needs tourism. Last year, Florida was challenged like never before as we faced the Zika virus, two hurricanes and the terror attack at Pulse Nightclub. In the face of adversity, we continued in our mission to promote our great state and thanks to the hard work of VISIT FLORIDA, we continue to see record visitors to Florida.”
In 2015, every 85 tourists supported one job. Today, VISIT FLORIDA data shows that every 76 tourists support one job – proof that tourism continues to be a major and growing influence on job creation in Florida and that we must continue to invest in this vital part of our growing economy.
VISIT FLORIDA estimates that a record 98.0 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in 2016, reflecting a 7.3 percent increase over 2015. Estimates also show that 11.1 million overseas visitors and 3.7 million Canadians came to the Sunshine State last year. Total enplanements at 18 Florida airports during 2016 increased 4.3 percent over the previous year, with a record 83.7 million enplaned passengers. For 2016, the average daily room rate (ADR) rose 2.0 percent and the number of rooms sold grew by 1.1 percent compared to 2015.
Ken Lawson, President and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA, said, “Six years of record-setting visitation would not be possible without a strong global marketing strategy focused on maximizing the economic impact of Florida tourism. To have achieved another tourism record in 2016 given all the challenges this state faced last year is an incredible testament to the cooperative relationship VISIT FLORIDA has with our more than 12,000 industry business partners around the state. Today’s announcement proves that sustained collective tourism marketing works and we have Governor Scott and our supporters in the Florida Legislature to thank for their unparalleled leadership over the past six years that has helped position our industry for this unprecedented success.”
For fourth quarter 2016, estimates show a record 27.6 million people visited the Sunshine State. This represents the largest fourth quarter visitation number Florida has ever seen and reflects an increase of 6.1 percent over the same period in 2015. VISIT FLORIDA also reports that an estimated 24.0 million domestic visitors, 3.0 million overseas visitors and 587,000 Canadians traveled to Florida in the fourth quarter of 2016.
William D.Talbert III, CDME, Chair of the VISIT FLORIDA Board of Directors, said, “Given the hyper-competitive global tourism marketplace, the series of challenging events the state faced and the uncertain economies of some of Florida’s key international markets, I am extremely encouraged to see that the programs VISIT FLORIDA and our statewide marketing partners conducted have resulted in another record year for visitation which ultimately supports and generates jobs throughout the state. This success in the face of tough times means it’s more important than ever to invest in smart tourism marketing.”
To view additional Florida visitor data, go the Research page on VISIT FLORIDA’s media website.
*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.