Florida tourism growth rate slows
Florida tourist arrivals continue to grow but the pace of growth is slowing.
The July to September quarter saw the lowest rise since 2010, up just 1.1% on the corresponding period in 2018.
Since then the average quarterly gain had been 6.2%.
Visit Florida reported 31.6 million people visited the Sunshine State in the third quarter.
Domestic and Canadian arrivals were slightly up, but international visitation continues to lag.
The figures are worrying for tourism leaders concerned over reduced funding for the state tourism marketing agency, and even the long term future of Visit Florida itself.
Marketing to international visitors is more important than ever, they say.
Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations executive director Robert Skrob said: "The brand of Florida will carry the big destinations but it’s not going to get visitors to all the other parts of the state that still rely on visitors to pay for taxes to support the businesses that are in the industry."
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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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