Florida hits record 142.9M visitors in 2024 as tourism industry rebounds
An estimated 142.9 million people traveled to Florida last year, a record total as the tourism industry continues to rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to numbers released Wednesday by Gov. Ron DeSantis' office.
During an appearance at the Miami International Boat Show, DeSantis called the estimated total a 'pretty good increase' over the previous record of 140.62 million visitors in 2023.
The new numbers continued to be bolstered by people traveling to Florida from other states, which accounted for 91.5 percent of the 2024 total. Such domestic tourists comprised nearly 93 percent of the overall count in 2023.
Read: 3 manatees released back into the waters of Blue Spring State Park
In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, it was 89.4 percent. Meanwhile, international travel continues to lag behind pre-pandemic levels.
An estimated 3.3 million Canadians made their way to Florida last year, up from 3.23 million in 2023, but short of the 4.088 million in 2019.
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Overseas travelers reached 8.9 million last year, up from 8.309 in 2023 but lower than the 9.801 million in 2019. In the fourth quarter of 2024, Florida had an estimated 33.1 million visitors, up from 32.85 million a year earlier, according to the numbers released Wednesday.
The state also totaled 742,000 Canadian visitors and 2.5 million overseas travelers during the final three months of 2024, topping the figures from 2023.
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