has florida tourism declined

Florida's latest tourism numbers just dropped, what it means for the state

Visit Florida has dropped the latest numbers for our state’s tourism, and they show a dip in travelers.

In the second quarter of 2023, the State of Florida saw a little more than 33 million visitors. It’s keeping us on pace to beat out our record from last year, but we have 1.2% fewer tourists compared to what we saw during the same time last year.

“We figured that we would start to even out and become more manageable because the numbers from 22 were just not sustainable,” explained Stacy Ritter.

Ritter is with Visit Lauderdale, and she said they were expecting a slower summer. The reasons as to why we have had one vary.

“From what I am told,” stated Ritter. “Americans are crawling all over Europe. There’s a lot of pent-up demand for people who have been there for years. I also think there is some Florida over-saturation. For a couple of years, we were the only place you could come with no competition, so people came, and they came back and back again. But now they can go everywhere.”

Why they are choosing to go elsewhere also varies.

We spoke to Ritter last month when roughly 10 convention events had pulled out of Greater Fort Lauderdale. Now they are up to 13 since May. Ritter shared the businesses have cited the state’s political climate and controversial policies coming from the governor’s office.

During the start of this year, we also saw groups like the NAACP and Equality Florida issuing travel advisories, telling travelers to reconsider coming to Florida because of tensions regarding African American studies and DEI curriculum in the state, as well as new policies.

The CEO of Visit Florida told the Orlando Sentinel that those reasons did not play a meaningful role in the lowered numbers during the second quarter, saying:

“We are continuing to see a very diverse group of vacationers that are coming to Florida,” they are spending money here, supporting our state economy. We value all of them, and we continue to encourage people to come.”

Ritter attested to that, “As it relates to group business, we actually poll higher in LGBTQ and multicultural group business than does our competitive set.”

According to the numbers, in Q2, most of Florida’s international tourists were from Canada, followed by the United Kingdom.

As for what those in the tourism industry are hoping to see next, hopefully, a busy winter, “We expect it will even out, it will be similar to 22, if we collect a half a million or a million dollars less of TDT, in calendar 23 compared to 22, we will consider it a very successful year,” stated Ritter.

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Despite Battle Over Politics, Florida Tourism Rolls On

Even as civil rights groups suggest travelers should rethink trips to the state because of policies enacted by its Republican lawmakers, it remains a tourism juggernaut. And some visitors say their spending actually supports opposition to the new laws.

A shop window is painted with a beach scene and the words “Hello Summer.” A group of people riding bikes on the opposite side of the street is reflected in the glass.

By Tariro Mzezewa

For months leading up to Jean Franco Rivera’s one-year wedding anniversary, he had the perfect plan to celebrate: Travel to Disney World and go on all his favorite rides with his husband, Ahmed, and brother-in-law, Luis. The three men, all gay and Latino, are originally from Puerto Rico, but now live in Texas. As the trip approached, ‌Jean Franco, 42, said they felt somewhat concerned about traveling to a state that had passed legislation targeting L.G.B.T.Q. people in recent months.

But in the end, they went.

And on a recent Saturday, they were just part of the usual throng of people at the Orlando theme park, waiting in line for Space Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jean Franco’s favorite ride, Flight of Passage. At Disney World that day, you would never have known that the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the L.G.B.T.Q. organization Equality Florida had all recently issued warnings telling people to reconsider coming to Florida because of the policies of Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers.

I had traveled to Florida in the wake of the N.A.A.C.P.’s advisory to see whether the warnings had any effect. The Riveras and other travelers told me that while they were against many laws recently passed in Florida,they didn’t feel that canceling their vacations would help anyone — or change the policies. In fact, several travelers said that they visited Disney and certain parts of Florida to get away from politics.

“Coming to Disney, especially, is like entering a safe zone,” ‌‌Stephanie Kate Jones, who was visiting the park from Wales in the United Kingdom, told me. “Coming here is a way to escape reality and the stress of everyday life.”

And while the warnings were widely covered outside the state , they have so far seemed to have little or no impact on tourism numbers.

“Travel has always transcended politics,” said Stacy Ritter, the president and chief executive of Visit Lauderdale, the Fort Lauderdale tourism organization. “People have always traveled to places where they don’t agree with the politics because they want to see something new, different. They want an experience. They want a vacation.”

DeSantis vs. Disney

Governor DeSantis, who was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2022 election, has introduced socially conservative policies, from the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” education bill limiting gender and sex education to the decision to bar the teaching of Advanced Placement African American history because it was a form of “ indoctrination ” to a tough crackdown on undocumented immigration.

Mr. DeSantis, who recently entered the 2024 presidential race, has also been in a dispute with Disney since last year, when the company said it would pause political donations in Florida‌ because of the‌ sex education bill. ‌ The two sides then began battling for control of the board that oversees Disney World’s development, with Mr. DeSantis trying to take control of it and limit Disney’s authority.

Disney sued the governor over the issue this spring and in May the company said it was scrapping a $1 billion development in Orlando.

While announcing his candidacy for presidency, Mr. DeSantis said that the N.A.A.C.P. advisory was “a total farce.” The travel warnings, he said, were a political stunt . “These left wing groups have been doing it for many, many years. And at the end of the day, what they’re doing is colluding with legacy media to try to manufacture a narrative,” he said.

But Brandon Wolf, the press secretary of Equality Florida said that the organization has received an increasing number of inquiries about whether it is safe for L.G.B.T.Q. travelers to go to Florida. “We felt it imperative that we answer the incoming inquiries honestly and completely,” he said.

In announcing L.U.L.A.C.’s advisory, the group’s president, Domingo Garcia, had warned that “DeSantis’ enforcement regulations will treat us like criminals, transporting a dangerous person who only wanted to visit family or enjoy Disney World.”

And Derrick Johnson, the president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P. said in an email in response to Mr. DeSantis’s comments: “As long as our contributions to this country and the powerful stories of our rich backgrounds, continued struggle and survival are denied, Black Americans need not pour our labor, time, or money into the state.”

The Sunshine State juggernaut

Florida is a tourism juggernaut. In 2022, it had 137.6 million visitors, the most in its history, according to Visit Florida, the state tourism organization, and in May the governor’s office proudly shared that Florida welcomed 37.9 million people in the first three months of this year.

Orlando remains the most-visited city in the United States — 74 million people traveled there in 2022. According to Visit Florida, in 2021, visitors to the state contributed $101.9 billion to Florida’s economy and supported more than 1.7 million Florida jobs.

While many Floridians said that travel warnings from civil rights organizations have symbolic meaning, few said they were concerned that people would stop visiting the state altogether. Some people recalled the backlash over North Carolina’s‌ 2016 “bathroom bill,” which kept transgender people from using bathrooms that aligned with their gender. The fallout over that bill was immediate and significant, leading to its repeal.

Nicolas Graf, associate dean at New York University’s School of Professional Studies’ Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, said a state’s policies might keep those who are politically active from visiting a destination, but “the notion that travelers — business or leisure travelers — will really change their behavior due to politics, I think that’s a minority of people.”

And that’s true across the political spectrum: Lance Toland, a conservative Georgia-based business owner who approves of Mr. DeSantis’s attempts to rein in Disney, said a state’s policies wouldn’t keep him from visiting. Liberal laws in California, for example, don’t keep him from going there, he said. “I can’t worry about what each state’s stance is. It doesn’t affect me.”

In many popular tourist spots, life was going on without interruption when I visited. In Winter Park, just north of Orlando, lines for restaurants like Prato, a casual Italian spot with a large outdoor patio, were lengthy. When I stopped several shoppers exiting upscale boutiques along Park Avenue, they said that while they had heard of the dispute between Disney and Mr. DeSantis, they hadn’t heard about the travel advisories.

Ashley Smith, 32, was visiting a friend in Winter Park for the weekend and was heading out for a boat tour of Winter Park’s lakes. Asked what she thought about the advisories, she said that she didn’t understand how limiting her travels could possibly be connected to the state’s political dramas.

A more welcoming stance

The advisories come after years of work by tourism officials across the state to expand its visitor base. In 2021, for example, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that it had changed its name to Visit Lauderdale and it had a new flashy tagline: “Everyone Under the Sun.”

Visit Lauderdale was just one of several tourism boards in the state that, in the past decade, have recognized that international, Black, Latino and L.G.B.T.Q. travelers have the discretionary income to spend on vacations and real estate and that it would be smart to appeal to them.

But these days, tourism boards, destination marketing organizations and travel businesses around the state are trying to figure out how to keep appealing to a diverse range of travelers.

Many of them prefer not to address the controversy directly. Florida’s tourism marketing organizations are funded through a bed tax — when a traveler checks into a hotel or resort, a percentage of what they pay for their stay goes to fund the work done by visitors’ and tourism organizations. That tax is controlled by state statute. Leaders of three destination marketing organizations‌, all asking to speak anonymously, said that while they do not support the recently enacted laws‌ they are worried that criticizing Mr. DeSantis publicly could lead to retaliation by the Legislature, which could cut back or eliminate funding for their organizations.

Jen Cousins, the co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project and a mother of four who is part of a federal suit challenging the sex education bill, said she believes that players in the travel industry, including cruises, airlines, destination marketing organizations and others, ‌should speak up against the recent legislation. She also noted that in meetings with the education secretary, Miguel Cardona; the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Adm. Rachel Levine; and the secretary of health and human services, Xavier Becerra, she and other activists were told they had the support in Washington, but, she said, “no one has stepped in.” The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms. Ritter, the president and chief executive of Visit Lauderdale, ‌was willing to go on the record. “Do I think the impact will be felt immediately? No, I don’t,” she said.

But, she said, she’s already seeing business and corporate travelers, who make up a significant part of the travel industry, look elsewhere. In the week after the civil rights organizations issued their warnings, seven large conferences and conventions walked back their plans to be in Fort Lauderdale, she said. Many event organizers, Ms. Ritter said, are looking ahead to events happening three to five years from now and far fewer are considering Florida. Her organization isn’t even bidding for certain events because they feel like a lost cause.

“And that’s directly related to state policies,” she said.

Not really Florida‌‌

Part of Jean Franco Rivera’s reason for going ahead with his anniversary trip was that he felt his travel dollars were actually being spent in opposition to Mr. DeSantis’s policies, because they were going to Disney. “Disney is standing up for our rights and being here feels like supporting their decision to stand up to DeSantis,” he said. “Many people who work at Disney are part of our community, the ‌L.G.B.T.Q. community, and being here is our way of supporting them.”

Many travelers‌ I met at Disney World and along the Jacksonville Beach Pier suggested that the parts of the state that they were most likely to visit were, in some way, not really Florida. ‌Key West, Miami, Wilton Manors, St. Petersburg and Sarasota traditionally vote Democratic and have swaths of ‌L.G.B.T.Q. and immigrant residents who, in many cases, disagree with the legislation being put forth. Visitors said that by supporting the economies of these places they could defy the state’s Republican lawmakers.

They also said they felt conflicted about the advisories, saying the warnings felt like an escalation of politics that could potentially harm local business owners, low-earning residents and liberal enclaves more than Mr. DeSantis or Republican lawmakers.

Some Florida residents felt the same way. “As a resident of Orlando, our tourist mecca, I don’t tend to advocate for a travel ban because a lot of our friends work in these low-paying travel jobs,” said Ms. Cousins. “They’re the ones being affected, not the top-paid C.E.O.s.”

For the moment, those involved in tourism in the state feel like they are walking a line. Rachel Covello, of Outcoast , a digital magazine that focuses on L.G.B.T.Q. community, said that the publication used to promote the state overall as an ‌inclusive destination. Now, while not telling people to say away, she said, it is highlighting specific destinations that are known to welcome L.G.B.T.Q. travelers.

“We pivoted our focus,” she said. “We don’t want to look like we’re blind to what’s happening in our own state as we’re promoting tourism.”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

Tariro Mzezewa, a former national correspondent at The Times, is a reporter who writes about culture and style. More about Tariro Mzezewa

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Tourism has dipped in Florida; reasons why vary depending on who you ask

Depending on who you ask, Florida’s tourism industry is either on a record-setting pace or is in decline.

It’s true that more people visited in the Sunshine State in the first six months of 2023 than ever before — more than 70 million tourists.

It’s also true that in the second quarter nearly 400,000 fewer people visited compared to the year before, a roughly 1.2% drop according to Visit Florida .

Once again, the reasons behind the drop vary.

“It’s exactly what we said would happen,” said Todd Sears, CEO of Out Leadership , a national LGBTQ business network.

Sears has been warning of what he calls economic consequences for months. He cites the state’s current political climate as the reason fewer visitors have come to Florida recently.

Several national civil rights organizations, like the NAACP and Equality Florida, have issued travel advisories, urging people not to come to the Sunshine State.

At least 13 national conventions have pulled out of the state, many of them citing the state’s current political climate.

The Governor’s office has called the canceled conventions “nothing more than a media-driven stunt.”

“Imagine the economic consequences three, four, five years from now if these policies aren’t reversed and DeSantis stays in power,” Sears said.

But Stacy Ritter with Visit Lauderdale said there’s no reason to be spooked by the slowdown in visits.

"We figured that we would start to even out and become more manageable, because the numbers from ‘22 were just not sustainable,” Ritter said.

Instead, she said many tourists are choosing to go overseas, which wasn’t an option at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

AAA says international bookings have skyrocketed by 44% year-over-year.

"For a couple of years, we were the only place you could come with no competition,” Ritter said. “People came and they came back and back again. But now they can go everywhere."

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Tourist count improves, but it’s still off 14%…

Things To Do Travel

Tourist count improves, but it’s still off 14% from a year ago, visit florida reports.

Fall born baby dolphin born to first time mother Bree swims around the pool at SeaWorld on Tuesday, October 6, 2020.

Travel-industry officials can envision bluer economic skies ahead as businesses scale back mask requirements and other social-distancing rules imposed to combat the virus that has killed more than 36,000 Floridians.

Florida drew 26.16 million visitors from Jan. 1 to March 31, down from 30.4 million tourists during the first quarter of 2020, according to numbers posted late Friday by the state tourism-marketing agency Visit Florida. The pandemic began hammering the state’s economy in March 2020, amid a period that includes tourist draws such as spring break and baseball spring training.

The number of tourists fell to 9.92 million in the second quarter of 2020, a 69.4 percent drop from the prior year, before increasing to 20.33 million in the third quarter and 19.096 million for the fourth quarter.

The new estimates by Visit Florida included a revision of the overall numbers for 2020 that indicates the pandemic was worse on the leisure and hospitality industry than previously projected.

The agency in March estimated Florida had 86.714 million visitors in 2020. With the revision, Florida’s 2020 total was set at 79.75 million, a 39.3% drop from 2019.

The 2020 figures were the lowest in a decade for a state that relies heavily on tourism to fuel its economy. Until the pandemic, Florida posted nine consecutive years of increased tourism numbers, topped by 131.4 million travelers in 2019.

The new numbers come as the state and federal governments battle in court over the idled cruise-ship industry and as major Orlando theme parks and other businesses have changed mask-wearing rules.

The business changes follow Gov. Ron DeSantis’ recent suspension of all local-government coronavirus emergency orders. Also, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued guidance that fully vaccinated people do not necessarily need to wear masks outdoors and indoors. Just more than a third of Floridians are fully vaccinated.

The state’s 2021 first-quarter numbers were bolstered by 25.56 million travelers from other parts of the United States, which has been the primary target of Visit Florida marketing since last summer. The domestic traveler number was 5.3% below the first quarter of 2020.

Visit Florida first targeted East Coast regions easily drivable to Florida and this year started expanding its marketing efforts to California, Oregon and Washington.

Meanwhile, Canadian travel for the first quarter was down 97.2%, with Florida attracting 34,000 Canadians during the period, and international tourism was down 74.4%. The state drew an estimated 564,000 overseas visitors the first three months of the year, with many nations still imposing border-screening and other travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

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U.S. visitors boost Florida's tourism industry, but international travel is struggling

People walk along the beach, Monday, Nov. 15, 2021, in Miami Beach. Cooped-up tourists eager for a taste of Florida's sandy beaches, swaying palm trees and warmer climates are visiting the Sunshine State in droves, topping pre-pandemic levels in recent months.

U.S. visitors continued to drive Florida’s tourism industry at a record pace, while international travel still struggled to reach pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released figures for the third quarter of 2022.

The tourism marketing agency Visit Florida estimated Tuesday the state attracted 35.115 million travelers during the third quarter, a 6.9 percent increase from 2021. The estimate was also 8 percent above the same period of 2019, before the pandemic largely shut down the state’s crucial tourism industry.

The numbers from July 1 through Sept. 30 --- the fifth consecutive quarter outpacing the corresponding quarter in 2019 --- indicated the industry has mostly moved past the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Tourism is the No.1 industry in Florida, and it is the highest contributor to general revenue of our state. So the health of our tourism economy is directly related to the health of our economy as a whole,” Visit Florida pPresident and CEO Dana Young told TravelMole managing director Graham McKenzie this past week while at the World Travel Market London.

“Said another way, if we aren't doing well, the economy is not going to be doing well either. And so, the more people realize that, that very important connection between tourism and prosperity, the more they are likely to realize how important the work that we do with tourism marketing is."

The estimates did not reflect impacts from Hurricane Ian, which crashed into Southwest Florida as a Category 4 system on Sept. 28, days before the end of the quarter. But some resorts have reported layoffs as they try to recover from damage, and the hurricane could affect fourth-quarter tourism numbers.

After Ian hit, Visit Florida quickly put together a digital and social media promotional campaign, seeded with about $2.7 million, that focused on parts of the state left unscathed by Ian.

Young didn’t discuss the Ian-related efforts with TravelMole but highlighted marketing beyond the state’s top tourism regions.

“Last year, we saw a marked increase in the number of visitors that were going to our more rural counties, so truly off the beaten path,” Young said. “In fact, in a few of our counties, we saw hotel occupancy levels increase as much as 25 percent year over year.”

The public-private Visit Florida is backed this year by $50 million in state money for marketing.

During the first nine months of 2022, Florida drew 104.375 million visitors, up 15.3 percent over the first three quarters of 2021 and 4.1 percent higher than at the same point in 2019, according to the Visit Florida numbers. For all of 2019, the state attracted a record 131.07 million travelers.

The state drew 97.752 million U.S. visitors during the first nine months of 2022, including 32.645 million in the third quarter. By comparison, the state drew 90.05 million U.S. visitors during the first nine months of 2019, including 29.295 million in the third quarter of that year.

The state initially focused on reviving domestic travel after the initial hit from COVID-19 in 2020. Numbers didn’t start to surpass pre-pandemic levels until the middle of 2021.

Meanwhile, Florida drew an estimated 5.002 million overseas travelers during the first three quarters of this year, down 30 percent from the same period in 2019. Also, Florida drew 1.62 million Canadian visitors through Sept. 30 this year, nearly 46 percent below the 2019 total.

Young told TravelMole she didn’t expect global inflation or the devalued British pound to further hurt the state’s efforts to attract international visitors.

“What we are seeing is that people still want to escape all of that, and they are still planning vacations,” Young said. “And by and large, they are planning vacations to Florida. So, we are not seeing an impact from the negative economic situation around the world on the people that are actually planning a trip to Florida.”

Florida got a boost in June when the Biden administration lifted a requirement that international travelers test negative for COVID-19 within a day of boarding flights to the United States. The ban was one of the last remaining government mandates designed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

But the 1.931 million overseas travelers in the third quarter was off 22.8 percent from 2019. Also, the 539,000 Canadians who traveled to Florida during this year’s third quarter was down from 703,000 during the same period in 2019.

While Florida's tourism dipped slightly in 2023, international tourism continued strong rebound

Residents and tourists enjoy South Beach, Friday, July 28, 2023, in Miami Beach, Fla. Humans naturally look to water for a chance to refresh, but when water temperatures get too high, some of the appeal is lost. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

While Florida saw a slight decline in the total number of tourists in 2023, the number of international visitors continues to show a strong rebound following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, Florida welcomed an estimated 135 million tourists according to the Visit Florida tourism marketing agency. That’s down from 137.4 million the year before, but up from 131.1 million in 2019 – the last full year of data before the pandemic.

Visit Florida reported an 18.3% increase in international tourists year over year, with 8.3 million from overseas (up 18.7% from 2022) and 3.8 million from Canada (up 45.5%).

Agency officials said this is the closest the state’s international visitation has come to full recovery since the beginning of the pandemic. They also say it’s noteworthy considering current economic challenges.

"Even as we faced the challenges of rising travel costs and widespread inflation, Florida's tourism sector not only persevered but flourished," Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in a statement.

In 2023, a record 45.9 million visitors flew into Florida, the largest number since 2016.

The agency also saw a 15.9% increase in fourth quarter 2023 overseas visitors and a 22% increase in fourth quarter Canadian visitors compared to 2022. However, there was a decrease of 12.1% in domestic tourists year over year.

And the area hit by Hurricane Ian in Sept. 2022 posted a recovery.

In the fourth quarter 2023, Fort Myers saw a 32.4% increase in visitors, compared to the same period a year earlier. The Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau reported the fourth-quarter visitation was up by 65.8% compared to 2022.

The News Service of Florida reports the state Senate has proposed $80 million for Visit Florida in its proposed budget for the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year, the same as in the current year. The House has countered with a $30 million proposal, and Gov. Ron Desantis has recommended $105 million.

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Florida tourism numbers goes down slightly in 2023

Visitors to Florida last year fell short of 2022′s record numbers, as a post-pandemic rebound in international travelers couldn’t overcome a noticeable drop-off in domestic tourism late in the year.

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The Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency Friday reported that Florida had an estimated 135.02 million tourists in 2023, down from 137.4 million in 2022.

Visit Florida, however, pointed to increases from 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel, and improved international tourist numbers. The state drew about 131.1 million tourists in 2019.

“Even as we faced the challenges of rising travel costs and widespread inflation, Florida’s tourism sector not only persevered but flourished (in 2023),” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in a prepared statement. “From record air travel numbers to the significant return of international visitors, Florida continues to shine.”

Read: Florida high school requires permission slips for students to see Disney’s ‘Tangled’

The agency said 2.34 million overseas visitors in the fourth quarter of 2023 marked a 15.9 percent increase from the final quarter of 2022. Also, 1.07 million Canadians in the fourth quarter of 2023 was a 22 percent improvement from the same period in 2022.

But the overall fourth-quarter number in 2023 of 29.8 million tourists was down from 32.9 million during the same period in 2022. U.S. travelers dropped 12.1 percent.

Florida totaled 122.89 million U.S. tourists in 2023, down from almost 127.8 million in 2022. The domestic tourist number was about 117.2 million in 2019.

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For much of the past year, industry officials have pointed to an increase in competition from other states and countries that were closed longer than Florida during the pandemic.

As pandemic restrictions lifted, Visit Florida emphasized attracting international visitors, who officials say stay longer and spend more money than domestic travelers.

Visit Florida reported 8.31 million overseas travelers in 2023, up from 7 million in 2022. Canadians accounted for 3.822 million visitors in 2023, up from about 2.63 million in 2022.

Read: Orange County man claims a $1 million prize after playing a scratch-off game

The agency indicated Florida has seen an increase in people flying to the state, accounting for 37.3 percent of the domestic visits, “the largest share of air visitors since 2016.”

As state lawmakers begin budget negotiations for the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Senate has proposed providing $80 million for Visit Florida, the same amount as in the current year. The House has countered with a $30 million proposal. Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended $105 million.

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Recent controversial laws in Florida interfere with the state's tourism industry

Florida is losing tourism dollars over divisive policies passed by the state legislature. Civil rights groups have advised some groups not to travel to the state.

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Florida tourism climbed during the first quarter of 2023

First-quarter tourism into Florida was up 6.7 percent from a year ago, with overseas visitors still under pre-COVID-19 figures, according to a release from the governor’s office Friday.

Florida’s tourism agency Visit Florida estimated a record 37.9 million travelers into the state during the first quarter of 2023, up from a prior single-quarter high of 35.528 million in the first three months of 2022.

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The first quarter estimates “show that 2023 is on track to continue Florida’s outstanding performance in welcoming visitors,” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in the release. Visitors from other states continue to drive tourism growth, accounting for more than 91 percent of the first-quarter numbers.

The latest figures include 1.8 million overseas visitors, an increase of 36 percent over last year but a decline from the 2.276 million visitors who traveled to the state in the first quarter of 2019, the last full year before the pandemic.

State lawmakers agreed to provide $80 million for Visit Florida during the upcoming 2023-2024 fiscal year, an increase of $30 million from the current year. The state spending plan (SB 2500) awaits delivery to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Tourism Numbers Getting Better – But Florida Still Struggles

People walking along street in theme park

The new estimates by Visit Florida included a revision of the overall numbers for 2020 that indicates the pandemic was worse on the leisure and hospitality industry than previously projected.

Florida’s tourism industry saw improvement during the first three months of 2021, but the number of visitors was still down 14 percent from a year earlier as the state continued to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency in March estimated Florida had 86.714 million visitors in 2020. With the revision, Florida’s 2020 total was set at 79.75 million, a 39.3 percent drop from 2019.

The new numbers come as the state and federal governments battle in court over the idled cruise-ship industry and as major Orlando theme parks and other businesses have changed mask-wearing rules.

Disney, which has increased the number of visitors allowed into its parks, and Universal now allow visitors to remove masks when in outdoor common areas, such as Main Street U.S.A. of the Magic Kingdom, and pool decks.

“If anybody’s been in Florida in the middle of summer with a mask on, that could be quite daunting,” Disney CEO Bob Chapek said during the company’s quarterly earnings call with investors on Thursday. “So, we think that’s going to make for an even more pleasant experience.”

SeaWorld Orlando responded by saying face coverings will no longer be required for fully vaccinated guests at its properties, while adding that guests won’t be required to provide proof of vaccination.

With the changes, Disney’s Chapek said he anticipates “an immediate increase in the number of folks that we’re able to admit into our parks through our reservation systems that we recently implemented.”

The state’s 2021 first quarter numbers were bolstered by 25.56 million travelers from other parts of the United States, which has been the primary target of Visit Florida marketing since last summer. The domestic traveler number was 5.3 percent below the first quarter of 2020.

Visit Florida first targeted East Coast regions easily drivable to Florida and this year started expanding its marketing efforts to California, Oregon and Washington.

A budget approved April 30 by state lawmakers would provide $50 million to Visit Florida for the fiscal year that will start July 1 --- the same as in the current year --- and pump an additional $25 million into the agency from federal stimulus money to “conduct activities that support and fund Florida's tourism industry and its recovery from COVID-19 through promotion and marketing activities, services, functions, and programs.” The budget has not gone to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Meanwhile, Canadian travel for the first quarter was down 97.2 percent, with Florida attracting 34,000 Canadians during the period, and international tourism was down 74.4 percent. The state drew an estimated 564,000 overseas visitors the first three months of the year, with many nations still imposing border-screening and other travel restrictions due to COVID-19.

Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in a statement Monday that the overall first-quarter numbers indicate a “better recovery than expected.”

“Visit Florida’s efforts have been crucial for the gains we have achieved in our economic recovery, and the state’s increased investment in Visit Florida this coming fiscal year will ensure we can continue delivering results for every sector of our tourism industry,” Young said.

DeSantis has repeatedly argued the state’s economy could be doing better if the CDC would allow cruise ships to start operating without requirements for passengers and crew. The state has filed a lawsuit against the federal government over cruise-ship restrictions.

DeSantis has also signed into law a measure (SB 2006) that bans governments and businesses from requiring COVID-19 vaccination “passports.”

Norwegian Cruise Line CEO Frank Del Rio recently told investors that the world’s third largest cruise line could restart operations outside of Florida waters, as it plans to require proof of vaccinations for all passengers and crew through at least Oct. 31.

DeSantis on Thursday dismissed Miami-headquartered Norwegian Cruise Line, which operates out of Port Canaveral, Port Miami and Tampa, as “not one of the big ones.”

Carnival, hoping to restart operations out of Miami on July 4, has not announced a vaccination requirement for its ships. Royal Caribbean on its website said that all guests 18 and older, along with all crew, will be required to submit proof of vaccination no later than boarding day.

Florida grapples with international tourism lag

News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE - Florida tourism leaders continue to fret over a lag in international visitors as the industry anticipates tourism numbers for the final three months of 2022.

While Visit Florida, the state’s tourism-marketing agency, boasts that Florida is the top U.S. destination for overseas travelers based on market share, numbers of international visitors to the state and nation remain far below pre-pandemic totals.

Visit Florida president and CEO Dana Young last week expressed concerns that global inflation and lengthy visa-processing times could affect the final numbers for 2022 and tourism in 2023.

“The wait time to get an interview for a visa in Mexico City is 693 days. In Lima, Peru, it is 831 days,” Young told members of the Visit Florida Executive Committee. “This is absolutely ridiculous, and it is impacting our international visitation.”

The U.S. Travel Association reported that steps taken by the U.S. Department of State to reduce visitor visa wait times have made “substantive progress,” with the global average below 150 days for the first time since 2021.

In a statement posted online, the U.S. Department of State said the delay stems from a combination of “pent-up demand” for visas, as countries have lifted COVID-19 restrictions, mixed with regular seasonal demand.

But, as Young noted, wait times in a number of nations remain above the average, even amid steps such as embassies and consulates opening on Saturdays for visa processing and increased hiring of U.S. Foreign Service employees to help with visa paperwork.

India on Jan. 19 had a wait period of 577 days, down from 999 days in mid-December.

“Wait times are still excessively high despite marked improvements in countries like India,” U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement. “While we appreciate (the Department of) State’s efforts, much work remains to bring interview wait times down to an acceptable level.”

Young said Florida’s international tourism numbers also face a “negative impact” because of the Biden administration extending until April 8 a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for foreign air travelers coming into the United States. The requirement had been slated to end Jan. 8.

Florida also is working to recapture business travel and meetings, as competition builds, Young said.

“The increase in competition from other global destinations that were not marketing during the pandemic is something that we’re watching,” Young said.

When third-quarter tourism numbers were released in November, the estimated 32.645 million travelers into Florida represented an 8% increase from the same period in 2019, before the pandemic largely shut down the crucial tourism industry. Of that, domestic travelers were up 11.4%, while overseas visitors were down 30%.

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The U.S. Travel Association estimated that international travel to the U.S. was 34% below pre-pandemic levels.

Visit Florida, which has increased its marketing to offset negative media reports about issues such as hurricanes, red tide and COVID-19, received $50 million in state funding this year. It is seeking $100 million next fiscal year, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

Young said Visit Florida is engaged in “phase 2″ of its response to Hurricane Ian. The Category 4 hurricane made landfall Sept. 28 in Southwest Florida and caused widespread damage as it crossed the state.

“We launched phase 1 on Oct. 8. This was a rapid response focused on the nonimpacted areas of the state to show that Florida was still open for business,” Young said. “We deployed video crews all over the state to nonimpacted areas so that they could shoot live, date-stamp footage of people enjoying the Florida sunshine. This was to combat the $165 million of negative earned media that we received over about a three-week period and dispel the misperception that Florida as a whole state was destroyed.”

Fourth-quarter and overall 2022 tourism numbers are expected to be released in mid-February.

By Jim Turner

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DeSantis’ Controversial Policies Spark Florida Convention Cancellations—As Tourism Shows Signs Of Slowing

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A growing number of conventions and conferences are refusing to hold events in Florida in response to the state’s political climate, as Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers’ controversial policies involving LGBTQ rights and race have prompted a backlash that could hurt a key part of Florida's economy—adding to a broader slowdown in tourism sectors like theme parks.

The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida

At least five groups have canceled planned events in Orange County, where Orlando is located, or announced plans to hold them elsewhere, the Orlando Sentinel reports .

Game of Thrones convention Con of Thrones canceled its event due to “the increasingly anti-humanitarian legislation and atmosphere in Florida,” for instance, while the National Society of Black Engineers moved its 2024 convention from Orlando to Atlanta, saying the state’s political climate “seeks to undermine what we stand for.”

Tourism officials in Fort Lauderdale also report at least six organizations have pulled out of holding their events in Broward County, where the city is located, due to concerns about the state’s policies, local outlet 7News Miami reports .

Local officials projected to the Wall Street Journal the cancellations would cost the county’s economy more than $20 million, taking into account lost revenue from hotel bookings, transportation, food and other travel costs.

The Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning moved its conference from Miami to Chicago, saying it would pay a “steep penalty” for moving the event but members had expressed “significant concerns” about holding the event in Florida, particularly in light of the state’s controversial educational policies targeting diversity initiatives.

In a statement to Forbes , DeSantis spokesperson Jeremy Redfern described the spate of cancellations as a “media-driven stunt” and pointed to Florida’s record tourism numbers in the first quarter of 2023.

There are broader signs tourism in Florida is on the decline—specifically in the Orlando area—though other factors besides politics are likely at play. The Orange County Comptroller’s office reported collections from a tourist development tax in May were down 6.7% from May 2022, after April tax figures were down by 3.5% from April 2022. That marks the first time there have been two consecutive decreases since February 2021, and hotel occupancy in the Orlando area in May was down 2.5% from a year earlier. Analysts cited by the Journal also report crowds in Walt Disney World over the July 4 holiday were the slowest they’ve been in nearly a decade, based on analysis of attraction wait times, a trend also hitting rival theme park Universal Orlando Resort. Those declines are at least partially because of families transitioning away from theme parks as pent-up demand following Covid-era closures has subsided, the Journal notes, and could also be a sign of visitors souring on widespread price increases at Disney’s theme parks.

$7.75 billion. That’s Florida’s projected hotel revenue from business travel in 2022, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association, part of $255 billion in business travel spending recorded nationwide in 2022 by the U.S. Travel Association. Conventions and conferences make up a sizable portion of Florida’s tourism economy, which contributed $96.5 billion to the state’s GDP in 2019 and employed 1.7 million people as of 2021, according to Visit Florida . Analysts cited by the Journal note Orlando is one of the top three cities in the country in terms of convention attendance and hotel rooms booked for conventions, and Visit Lauderdale told the publication that group travel including conventions makes up one-quarter of Broward County’s tourism business.

Chief Critic

Redfern directed Forbes to a Bloomberg article reporting Florida is among six Southern states that are “contributing more to the national GDP than the Northeast,” adding that under DeSantis’ leadership, “Florida’s economy is booming, with Florida being the fastest growing state and having the largest net domestic in-migration .”

Not all regions of the state are being affected by a drop in conventions and conferences, with officials in Tampa telling the Florida Phoenix that no events have yet been canceled at the city’s convention center for political reasons.

What To Watch For

How the state’s tourism figures will play out from here. In the near term, Visit Orlando told the Orlando Sentinel that hotel bookings suggest the city will have similar tourist levels to 2022 through the summer, and tax collection data from June is expected to be higher due to an uptick in conventions. Any major hit to Florida’s tourism industry as a result of conventions getting canceled is likely to be a longer-term trend, as many of the events pulling out of Florida were scheduled for next year and organizers often plan events years ahead of time. “In Greater Fort Lauderdale, we have seen record tourism numbers through the first quarter of this calendar year, but as I said, group business books years in advance,” Visit Lauderdale CEO Stacy Ritter told 7News.

Key Background

DeSantis and the Florida legislature have enacted a variety of controversial laws that have drawn national controversy, including restrictions on school instruction and classroom library books, bans on gender-affirming care, immigration restrictions, a six-week abortion ban and restrictions on drag shows. The state also publicly railed against an AP African-American Studies course for teaching “woke” politics, drawing backlash. Florida’s Parental Rights in Education law, known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” has led to a protracted battle between Disney and DeSantis after the company opposed the law, which is now playing out in court. The rash of policies has led to multiple civil rights groups issuing travel advisories against the state, including the NAACP , LGBTQ rights group Equality Florida and the League of United Latin American Citizens, urging Americans not to travel to Florida due to its “hostile” policies. “Florida is openly hostile toward African Americans, people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals,” the NAACP’s travel advisory states . “Before traveling to Florida, please understand that the state of Florida devalues and marginalizes the contributions of, and the challenges faced by African Americans and other communities of color.”