VISIT FLORIDA Official Media Newsroom

Florida’s 2008 Visitation Number Equals 82.5 Million

NEWS RELEASE TOPIC:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 9, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 16, 2009
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Feb 16, 2009) – Reversing several years of steady annual increases, the number of visitors coming to Florida fell in 2008 as compared to the previous year. According to preliminary* estimates released today by VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, an estimated 82.5 million visitors came to Florida in 2008, a decrease of 2.3 percent.

“The first six months of the year actually showed a 2.9 percent increase in visitation,” said Richard Goldman, VISIT FLORIDA’s Chairman of the Board and the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Amelia Island Plantation. “It was during the second six months of 2008 when a sea of headlines about the global economic crisis, mortgage foreclosures, tightening credit markets and bailouts caused consumers to change their vacation patterns and companies to cancel meetings and conventions.”

Preliminary estimates of visitors to Florida for the fourth quarter of 2008 (October-December), show an estimated 16.6 million people visited the Sunshine State. This reflects a visitor decrease of 13.6 percent.

“The fourth quarter of 2008 reflects the full impact of the economic downturn that everyone in every industry is facing,” said Bud Nocera, VISIT FLORIDA’s President and CEO. Comparable destinations like California, Hawaii and Las Vegas are reporting fourth quarter double-digit declines as high as 16 percent. Americans are being very conservative in their travel today.”

VISIT FLORIDA also reports that more than 3,859,000 residents took a pleasure trip in the fourth quarter of 2008 and in-state trips increased by 22.9 percent in 2008 overall.

Preliminary data collected at 14 of Florida’s major airports shows a 7.3 percent decrease in total enplanements to Florida for the fourth quarter and a decrease of 2.1 percent for 2008.

“The decrease in tourism numbers is a major concern,” said Nocera. “No one is satisfied with a decrease in visitation, but given the profound downturn in the current economy, the fact that Florida hosted 82.5 million visitors in the 2008 calendar year is still an impressive number.”

During the fourth quarter of 2008, overseas travel to Florida decreased by 8.0 percent, however overseas visitation for the 2008 calendar year increased 1.1 percent. Canadian travel to Florida during the fourth quarter shows a 5.7 percent decline, yet
Canadian travel to Florida increased by 14.0 percent overall in 2008.In total 2,832,300 Canadians visited Florida, in 2008, compared to 2,485,400 in 2007.

*Preliminary estimates are issued 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Final estimates are released when final data are received for all estimates in the report.
VISIT FLORIDA is the official tourism marketing corporation for the state of Florida. VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through sales, advertising, promotions, public relations, new product development and visitor services programs. As a public/private partnership VISIT FLORIDA has more than 3,500 tourism industry Partners and four major strategic alliances with American Express Travel Related services, AirTran Airways, Dollar Rent A Car and The Hertz Corporation. To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, visit www.VISITFLORIDA.org

VISIT FLORIDA is the official tourism marketing corporation for the state of Florida. VISIT FLORIDA promotes tourism to Florida through sales, advertising, promotions, public relations, new product development and visitor services programs. As a public/private partnership VISIT FLORIDA has more than 3,400 tourism industry Partners and four major strategic alliances with American Express Travel Related services, AirTran Airways, Dollar Rent A Car and The Hertz Corporation. To learn more about VISIT FLORIDA, visit www.VISITFLORIDA.org.