Florida posts record third-quarter tourism numbers

Florida’s tourism totals hit record levels during this year’s third quarter, with the numbers bolstered by U.S. visitors as international travel continues to lag behind pre-COVID levels, according to Visit Florida.

Despite Florida ensuring two hurricanes in August and September – and bad press after the state’s tourism marketing agency removed LGBTQ+ travel information from its website – Visit Florida on Tuesday (Nov. 13) estimated 34.61 million people travelled to the Sunshine State during Q3, which is 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 statement.

The report estimates that 31.758 million people from other U.S. 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.

Visit Florida estimated 2.27 million overseas travellers and 582,000 Canadians visited the state during the third quarter this year.

That’s an increase from 2.227 million overseas travellers and 568,000 Canadians in 2023 and 1.931 million overseas travellers and 598,000 Canadians in 2022.

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