VISIT FLORIDA: Domestic travel to Florida shows rebound

Travelers to Florida in the second quarter of this year have been counted, and data shows not only a 220% rebound from last year’s lockdown spiral but also a bump from 2019’s numbers, according to VISIT FLORIDA.

With 6% more domestic visitors coming to Florida than came in 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis seized on the count as proof his approach to handling the COVID-19 pandemic has been a success. Florida opened nonessential businesses well in advance of most other states and before meeting the guidelines for COVID-19 recovery that President Donald Trump’s administration had promulgated.

The revitalization of the tourism industry will have a positive impact on every Floridian, DeSantis said.

“Florida continues to serve as an example for the country that when you reject lockdowns and unnecessary mandates, your economy will thrive,” DeSantis said, according to a VISIT FLORIDA news release. “Not only did Florida have more visitors in the second quarter than we did in 2020, but the data shows that domestic visitation has already fully recovered to 2019 levels. I’m grateful for the dedication of thousands of Florida business owners, who demonstrated the highest commitment to their employees and their customers, and I’m proud of VISIT FLORIDA’s hard work to market the Sunshine State.”

DeSantis’ approach to handling the pandemic has become controversial once again as the delta variant of COVID-19 has caused a surge in the number of infections and hospitalizations, breaking records that were set before the vaccine became available.

Still, before this latest surge the state’s tourism marketing arm found 31.7 million travelers to Florida from April through June 2021, representing an increase of more than 220% over the prior year. The lockdown started in mid-March and continued into May of last year.

“Florida tourism’s skyrocketing growth in Q2 2021 is an incredible achievement for our state’s economic recovery and underscores the effectiveness of VISIT FLORIDA’s marketing,” Dana Young, VISIT FLORIDA President and CEO, said in a news release. “… VISIT FLORIDA remains wholly focused on driving even more results for Florida’s tourism economy and showcasing everything our great state has to offer to travelers.”

The results were even more dramatic, when comparing 2021’s second quarter international travel to 2020’s. Preliminary estimates are that 1.1 million overseas visitors came to Florida in the second quarter of 2021 — an increase of 854% from the previous year, according to VISIT FLORIDA. But the number of overseas travelers have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels, the figures show. Less than half as many travelers came from overseas in the second quarter of 2021 as the same period in 2019.

VISIT FLORIDA worked with Allegiant Airlines, American Airlines/American Airline Vacations, and United Airlines on three independent campaigns shown in the Midwest and the Northeast to drive bookings for traveling and room nights, VISIT FLORIDA officials said. Those campaigns positioned Florida as a leading destination for travelers across the U.S and accelerated the recovery of the state’s tourism industry, the news release said.