Florida inching closer to 100m visitors a year
The latest estimates presented by Visit Florida showed another record year for visitation to the Sunshine State.
Gov. Rick Scott announced that 97.3 million tourists flocked to Florida, increasing for the fourth consecutive year but falling just short of Scott’s 2014 target of 100 million.
Visit Florida said there were 11.5 million overseas visitors and 3.8 million tourists from Canada, both up compared to 2013.
The state Department of Economic Opportunity estimates 1.1 million people statewide are engaged in jobs in the tourist industry.
Gov. Rick Scott has requested a further increase in tourism marketing funding from $74 million to $85 million for 2015 in order to pass 100 million visitors a year mark.
However some state senators are reluctant to commit more money as they see the return on investment leveling off.
"To me, potentially, we’re getting to a situation where maybe we’ve spent or are spending what we need," said Jack Latvala, Senate transportation and tourism appropriations chairman Jack Latvala.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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