Third Quarter Tourism Up in Florida

By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

TALLAHASSEE — Florida posted a record third-quarter tourism total this year, with the numbers bolstered by U.S. visitors as international travel continued to lag behind pre-pandemic levels, according to the Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency.

Despite the state taking hits from two hurricanes in August and September, Visit Florida on Monday estimated 34.61 million people traveled to Florida during the third quarter, up from 33.995 million during the same period in 2023 and 34.551 million in 2022.

“The hard work and resilience of Floridians have been instrumental in keeping our tourism industry strong, showcasing the best of what our state has to offer,” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in a prepared statement.

The report estimates that 31.758 million people from other states visited Florida from July 1 through Sept. 30. That was up from 31.2 million during the third quarter of 2023 but down from 32.022 million during the same period in 2022.

Meanwhile, Visit Florida estimated 2.27 million overseas travelers and 582,000 Canadians visited the state during the third quarter this year. That was up from 2.227 million overseas travelers and 568,000 Canadians in 2023 and 1.931 million overseas travelers and 598,000 Canadians in 2022..

While this year’s visits from overseas and Canada were higher than in 2023 and 2022, they have not returned to levels from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic slammed the tourism industry in early 2020. In the third quarter of 2019, Florida drew 2.502 million overseas visitors and 703,000 Canadians. Florida attracted 29.295 million U.S. travelers in the third quarter of 2019.

During the first three quarters of 2024, Visit Florida estimates the state had 109.7 million visitors, 1.8 percent more than during the first nine months of 2023.

The new estimates came as Visit Florida has launched a $5.75 million effort to let tourists know that the soon-to-end 2024 hurricane season hasn’t closed the state.

Three hurricanes have hit the state this year. Hurricane Debby came ashore Aug. 5 in rural Taylor County with 80 mph winds. The more-powerful and deadly Hurricane Helene made landfall Sept. 26 in Taylor County after pounding other coastal communities as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico. That was four days before the end of the third quarter.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Milton hit Sarasota County on Oct. 9 and caused extensive damage across the state.

Visit Florida’s marketing effort started by highlighting areas that did not sustain heavy damage in the storms, such as Amelia Island, Islamorada and Pensacola. It will expand to focus on “fully recovered destinations” in Tampa, Naples and Fort Myers, while assisting counties most affected by the storms, from Pinellas, Sarasota, and Manatee to the more-rural Taylor, Dixie, and Levy.