Staff Reports
Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.
First Shot
Florida was the top vacation destination among Americans — again — and Gov. Ron DeSantis is spotlighting the record-breaking performance.
The Sunshine State accounted for 15.5% of domestic tourism in America in 2024. That’s up by nearly one percentage point from 2023. During the DeSantis administration, it’s also the sixth time the state has broken its own tourism record.
“Florida is the world’s favorite place to visit,” DeSantis said. “This record tourism is a result of policies that prioritize freedom, public safety, and common sense.”
That 2024 trend is carrying over into 2025 thus far. The number of Canadians visiting Florida by air has increased by 0.5% in the first two months. That’s also above the national figure, which showed a 2.3% decline in Canadians traveling to the United States.
The number of overseas travelers coming to Florida also jumped in January and February, with a 6.5% increase compared to last year. Much of those gains were attributed to visitor increases from the United Kingdom, Brazil and Argentina.
An announcement from February also highlighted that Florida is a top destination for travelers worldwide. Last year, 142.9 million people came to Florida, an increase of 1.6% over the 2023 figure.
The 2024 travel season also finished on a strong note. The fourth quarter of last year drew 33.1 million visitors. That was the biggest draw of travelers coming to the Sunshine State ever recorded in the fourth quarter.
Domestic travelers accounted for most of those visitors, with 29.9 million domestic visits to the state. Another 2.5 million people came from overseas during the last three months of 2024, plus another 742,000 who came from Canada.
Evening Reads
—”Cracks appear among Donald Trump’s cheerleaders as markets dive” via Cat Zakrzewski, Sarah Ellison and Theodoric Meyer of The Washington Post
—”The first victim of Trump’s trade war: Michigan’s economy” via Jeanne Whale and Christopher Otts of The Wall Street Journal
—“Recent Florida laws face undoing in Legislative Session U-turn this year” via Gray Rohrer of USA TODAY Network-Florida
—”America may be headed for this rare type of economic crisis” via Eric Levitz of Vox
—”Trump admin exempts Trump ads thanking himself from DOGE review” via Andrew Perez of Rolling Stone
—”Trade will move on without the United States” via Michael Schuman of The Atlantic
—”Ron DeSantis says judge who blocked immigration law is an ‘activist’” via Ana Ceballos of the Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times
—”‘The mission continues’: Gov. DeSantis undaunted by ruling against state immigration law” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics
—”As the insurance crisis spiraled, did Florida bury consumer complaints?” via Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Times
—”Florida tops the nation in domestic tourists last year, breaks own record for sixth time” via Drew Dixon of Florida Politics
Quote of the Day
“We are not taking the pedal off the gas one bit when it comes to enforcing federal immigration laws.”
— Gov. Ron DeSantis, after a federal judge ruled against the state immigration law.
Put it on the Tab
Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.
Get the Fish House Punch ready, the federal government might come through in expanding the red snapper season in the Atlantic.
Three cheers for La Florida, which accounted for 15.5% of domestic tourism in America in 2024, breaking its own record for a sixth time.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the “mission continues,” but it’s a Muddle Mission after the federal courts threw him a curveball.
Breakthrough Insights
Tune In
Gators shooting for third title tonight
The college basketball season culminates tonight as the Florida Gators face the Houston Cougars in the NCAA championship game (8:50 p.m. CBS).
Florida aims for the program’s third national championship, while the Cougars seek the first in school history.
The Gators (35-4) have followed the lead of All-American guard Walter Clayton Jr. during the tournament. Clayton has averaged 24.6 points per game in the NCAA Tournament, including scoring 30 or more in Florida’s Elite Eight win over Texas Tech and Final Four victory over Auburn. He is the first player since Larry Bird in 1979 to score 30 or more points this late in the tournament.
Florida’s other national championship came in back-to-back seasons when Billy Donovan led the Gators to national titles in 2006 and 2007.
Houston rallied to beat Duke in the national semifinals, knocking out the tournament’s top seed. The Cougars ended the game on a 15-3 run; however, the final minute was not without controversy. A disputed foul called on Blue Devils’ star Cooper Flagg allowed Houston to make two free throws and take the lead with under 20 seconds to play.
The Cougars have been to the National Championship game twice in school history. In 1983 and 1984, the team led by Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, known as Phi Slamma Jamma, advanced to the finals. In 1983, Houston fell to one of the all-time Cinderella teams, Jim Valvano’s North Carolina State. The following year, Houston fell to Georgetown, led by Patrick Ewing.
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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.
