Florida tourism on charm offensive to entice Canadians back
Florida tourism officials are reaching out to Canada to try and arrest the decline in tourist arrivals over the past year.
The CEOs of Visit Florida and the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association are set to meet with Canadian tourism leaders.
“We had this opportunity land in our lap, so we’re both going to have a meeting and see what we can do,” Carol Dover, CEO of the FRLA.
VisitFlorida chief CEO Bryan Griffin will attend key trade shows and conduct media interviews this spring in Toronto and Vancouver.
“We’re doing what we can to make sure that visitation remains strong,” Griffin said.
Despite a US boycott by Canadians, it hasn’t adversely affected Florida tourism numbers due to the strength of the domestic market.
Visit Florida said the number of Canadian visitors in the third quarter of 2025, is down nearly 20%.
This is the lowest since the pandemic.
However, Griffin claims there has been a rally in the past two months.
“November’s and December’s figures are the strongest Canadian travel that we’ve had since last February,” he said.
Other countries have been taking up the slack, with visits from Brazil up over 10% and 6% up from the UK.
It comes as a coalition of civil rights groups issued a travel warning for FIFA World Cup fans this year over ICE enforcement operations.
It comes from ACLU of Florida, Florida Immigrant Coalition, American Friends Service Committee, Family Action Network Movement and Florida Rising.
“Florida is no longer a safe destination for international tourists. When federal and local agents can detain anyone at any time without cause and without identifying themselves, everyone is at risk,” said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
“What we don’t want is fans being harassed by immigration enforcement when they’re just trying to attend the game,” Thomas Kennedy, spokesperson for the Florida Immigrant Coalition said.
Their travel advisory hasn’t called for a boycott but says there is a potential risk of foreign fans being caught up in immigration enforcement operations.
Miami will host seven World Cup matches.
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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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