The second quarter tourism statistics are in and they point to an increase in visitors to the Sunshine State. This is particularly good news for those cities among the most prone to tourism, such as Orlando and here in Miami.
According to Visit Florida, the official marketing corporation for Florida's tourism, the first half of this year has been the best six months of tourism the state has ever enjoyed.
Lest readers think this information is a fluke or the result of inflated dollar figures being used, Visit Florida based its claims on the number of visitors to the state and not on the money spent. Additionally, each quarter of the current year out paced the corresponding quarter of 2012.
The 2.6% rise over last year's second quarter equated to a record 23.4 million visitors. Most visitors, 19.7 million, came from other parts of the U.S.; an increase of 1.6%. The greatest increase, percentage wise, came from overseas visitors with an increase of 2.7 million or 9.3%. Travel to our state by our neighbors to the north increased by 4.9%, making the number of visitors from Canada come up to around a million.
Brochure printers will no doubt want to keep in mind the increase in tourists from abroad and make some of their materials available in the more common foreign languages. With tourism on the rise, vendors and members of the hospitality industry need to step up their efforts to ensure tourists enjoy their experience and come back. So far this year, the increase in tourism has translated into a 2.8% increase in related jobs
