Sunshine Matters

With National Travel & Tourism Week starting this Sunday, it’s the perfect time to remind us all that “Tourism Works for Florida.”  On any given day, there are more people visiting Florida than live in 13 U.S. states and those visitors will, on average, spend $224 million every day.

Last year, the Sunshine State welcomed 105 million out-of-state and international visitors, marking the fifth consecutive record year for Florida tourism.  Newly released figures from the Florida Department of Revenue report that visitors spent $89.1 billion in 2015, an increase of $7.1 billion from the previous year:

• Total taxable sales in Florida hotels and lodgings were $23.5 billion, up 11.1%
• Total taxable sales in admissions (including attractions) were $15.1 billion, up 9%
• Total taxable sales in restaurants were $39.3 billion, up 8.2 %

“Visitors spent $89.1 billion in Florida last year on taxable goods, of which more than $5.3 billion was returned to the state in sales tax collections.  That represents an increase of $425 million over the previous year,” said Dr. Jerry Parrish, Chief Economist and Director of Research for the Florida Chamber Foundation.  “Those are taxes Florida’s businesses and families don’t have pay because our visitors have paid them for us.”

We know that record visitation and visitor spending have translated into record employment in Florida’s hospitality industry, which currently employees 1.2 million residents.  Thanks to the visionary leadership of Governor Scott and the Florida Legislature, and the extraordinary private-sector support and investment, the Florida tourism industry is in a great position to continue to grow the state’s economy and create more jobs for Floridians.

On behalf of all those who work tirelessly each day to make Florida the No. 1 travel destination in the world, please join with us next week as we celebrate the incredible impact this vital industry has on the Sunshine State.  Be a part of it all at #NTTW2016 and #TourismWorks4FL.