According to preliminary estimates, 31.7 million visitors visited the state, a 220 percent rise above 2020 levels and a 6% increase over 2019 levels.
“Not only did Florida get more tourists in the second quarter than in 2020, but evidence indicates that domestic tourism has already fully rebounded to 2019 levels,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis stated.
Visit Florida, which acts as the state’s tourist marketing organization, attributed the increase in visitor numbers to its marketing initiatives.
It developed a co-branded, multi-channel campaign with AAA Northeast to promote Florida to people 25 and older in key Northeast areas.
“Visit Florida’s joint investment of $150,000 in the campaign resulted in nearly $24.5 million in overall bookings to Florida, including $16 million in bookings to Orlando,” the group stated.
Additionally, Visit Florida partnered with Allegiant Airlines, American Airlines/American Airline Vacations, and United Airlines on three Midwest and Northeast initiatives aimed at “keeping Florida front of mind and driving reservations to the state once travel resumed.”
Visit Florida stated that their $550,000 investment, “which was matched at least 1:1,” helped produce almost $1.2 million in media value and over 156.5 million impressions, surpassing projections by 47.3 percent and establishing Florida as a premier destination for tourists throughout the United States.
Allegiant’s Florida bookings from Cincinnati, Columbus, and Indianapolis increased by an average of 8.6 percent year over year; American Airlines’ Florida flight increased by 80 percent; American Airline Vacations’ package bookings increased by 14.8 percent, with a 19.3 percent increase in room nights and a 9.3 percent increase in revenue; and the campaign directly resulted in a $2.9 million increase in air sales.
“Florida tourism’s meteoric rise in Q2 2021 is an outstanding accomplishment for our state’s economic recovery and demonstrates the efficacy of Visit Florida’s marketing,” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young stated.
“With Governor DeSantis’ backing, we were able to not only push travel well above 2020 targets but also record a 6% growth in domestic visitation from 2019.
“Visit Florida is committed to accelerating the growth of Florida’s tourism sector and promoting everything our wonderful state has to offer travelers.”