Sunshine Matters

Today, President Obama provided a progress report on his National Travel and Tourism Strategy and touted the significant role the industry plays in growing the economy and creating jobs.   On behalf of the more than 1.1 million Floridians employed in the state’s tourism industry, I applaud President Obama and his administration for their efforts to support increased international travel to the U.S. Continue reading »

I am sharing a message from U.S. Travel Association President & CEO Roger Dow on the importance of offering your support for the reauthorization of Brand USA.

Dear Travel Colleague:

Following testimony by U.S. Travel and other industry leaders last week to the U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Tourism, Competitiveness and Innovation, media continue to report on the travel community’s appeal for Congressional support of programs that help grow the economy. Our work is far from done—and your voice is critical moving forward. Continue reading »

I am delighted to share that today Governor Scott announced VISIT FLORIDA’s preliminary estimates* showing 26.7 million visitors came to Florida in the first quarter of 2014 (January-March), an increase of 2.0 percent over the same period in 2013.  This represents the largest quarter for visitation Florida has ever experienced, exceeding the previous high of 26.2 million in Q1 2013.  The average number of direct travel-related jobs in Q1 2014 was also a record high, with 1,125,300 Floridians employed in the tourism industry – up 3.5 percent from the same period in 2013. Continue reading »

Last night, the Florida Legislature passed the state budget which included a $10.5 million increase in VISIT FLORIDA funding for a record $74 million in FY 2014-15.  This allocation includes $5 million for medical tourism marketing and $1.3 million to promote the Sunshine State to veterans and active duty military.  I would like to thank Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature for their visionary leadership and for their extraordinary support of VISIT FLORIDA and the state’s tourism industry. Continue reading »

We all know tourism is the state’s No. 1 industry and that every 85 visitors supports one Florida job.  With the release of the latest employment data, here are some new stats you may not know:

• Tourism-related employment grew year-over-year for the 48th straight month in March 2014, marking the fourth straight year of growth
• Tourism-related employment for the month of March reached 1,152,800, an increase of 3.7 percent compared to March of last year
• Tourism-related employment accounted for 18 percent of total non-agricultural employment in Florida during March 2014
• Tourism related employment for calendar year 2013 averaged 1,096,700, an increase of 3.7 percent from 2012
• Tourism related employment accounted for 14.5 percent of total non-agricultural employment in Florida during 2013
• 1 in 5 new jobs in Florida are in tourism Continue reading »