Florida Reports Record Q1 with 29.8 Million Tourists Travelling to Sunshine State

Florida welcomed its highest number of visitors in Q1 2016 with 29.8 million tourists travelling to the Sunshine State.

That’s is an increase of 4.8% over the same period last year and exceeds the previous high of 28.5 million in Q1 2015.

The average number of direct travel-related jobs in the first quarter of 2016 was also a record high, with 1,231,100 Floridians employed in the tourism industry – up 3.8% from the same period in 2015.

The Florida First budget Governor Scott signed in March invested $76 million for Visit Florida to attract even more tourists.

Governor Rick Scott said, “I’m thrilled that Florida continues to break records in the amount of tourists visiting our state. Nearly 30 million visitors have enjoyed our beautiful beaches and attractions so far this year, and a record high of more than 1.2 million Floridians are employed in the tourism industry – which is great news. Last year, we exceeded our goal of an historic 105 million visitors because of Florida’s unique national treasures, and I look forward to smashing our record again this year by welcoming 115 million visitors to the Sunshine State.”

Visit Florida estimates that a record 25.6 million domestic visitors traveled to Florida in the first quarter of 2016, which is a 6.6% increase over the same period last year.

Total enplanements at Florida’s 18 major airports in Q1 2016 equaled 22.3 million, an increase of 1.5 million or 7.0% from over the same period last year.

John Tomlin, Chair of the Visit Florida Board of Directors, said, “Experiencing the largest quarter for tourism in our state’s history – not just visitation, but jobs as well – shows the vital role our industry plays in Florida’s economic growth. These records would not be possible without the strong industry alignment between Visit Florida and our tourism Partners, and their continued investment in strengthening Florida’s incredible tourism product.”

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