Freedom Works: Florida Breaks Tourism Records Once Again

According to Visit Florida —the agency that promotes tourism in this state—Florida tourism continues its rapid post-pandemic recovery with a record 33.7 million tourists in the second quarter of the year, for a total of 69.3 million visitors in the first six months, up 20% from the same period in 2021.

The influx of tourism in these first six months was even higher than during the first six months of 2019, the last year of travel before the coronavirus pandemic, Visit Florida specified.Tourism in the second quarter (April 1 to June 30) was up 5.6 percent over the same period in 2021, following the first quarter that registered 38.3 percent higher than the first quarter of 2021.

Travel from within the U.S. accounted for 93% of people visiting Florida during the second quarter and nearly 94% of people visiting this state during the first six months.

Florida’s nearly 36 million domestic and foreign visitors between January and March was an all-time record for a three-month period.

In 2021, despite the heavy economic impact of covid-19, Florida welcomed approximately 122 million visitors, a 54.1 percent increase over 2020 and a 6.9 percent decrease over 2019 due to the pandemic.

In 2019, when Florida reached a record 131 million tourists, it attracted 32 million visitors in the second quarter and 67.7 million in the first half of the year.

Florida has managed to outpace other U.S. states in international traveler returns during the pandemic but still lags behind the totals recorded in 2019.