Hottest visitor market in US
At its present rate, Orlando will have more than 50 million visitors by the end of 2005, making it perhaps the busiest tourist spot anywhere in the country.
And it’s not just US visitors coming there.
Combined domestic and international arrivals are expected to increase 5.9% in 2005 to 50.9 million visitors, according to the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Market.
International visitation is expected to increase 7.5% this year to 2.8 million.
Arrivals from the United Kingdom are leading the increase, according to tourism officials.
At the same time, hotel occupancy for the first three months of the year was up nearly 7% from the first three months of 2004.
Hotel occupancy for the recent time period could be the best quarter in the history of the area, according to tourist officials.
The growth of visitors has been “phenomenal,” said Duane Vinson with Smith Travel Research.
Hotel occupancy rates have been high as well. The 730-room Omni Orlando resort at ChampionsGate that opened late last year has occupancy rates of up to 90%, said marketing director Paul Pebley.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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