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According to a statement released on Friday by the governor's office, tourism in Florida during the first quarter of 2023 experienced a 6.7 percent increase compared to the previous year. However, the number of overseas visitors has not yet reached pre-COVID-19 levels.
Visit Florida, the state's tourism agency, estimated that a record-breaking 37.9 million travelers visited Florida in the first quarter of 2023. This surpasses the previous high of 35.528 million visitors recorded in the first three months of 2022.
Dana Young, the President and CEO of Visit Florida, stated in the release that these first quarter estimates indicate that Florida's exceptional performance in welcoming visitors is expected to continue throughout 2023. The majority of the growth in tourism came from visitors originating from other states, accounting for over 91 percent of the first quarter numbers.
The latest data includes 1.8 million overseas visitors, marking a 36 percent increase compared to the previous year. However, this figure is lower than the 2.276 million visitors recorded in the first quarter of 2019, which was the last full year before the onset of the pandemic.
To support Visit Florida's efforts, state lawmakers have agreed to allocate $80 million for the agency during the upcoming 2023-2024 fiscal year. This represents a $30 million increase from the current year. The state spending plan (SB 2500) is awaiting delivery to Governor Ron DeSantis.