No surprise to local Florida residents that the Sunshine State gets more than its fair share of visitors. Tourism actually plays such a large role that the state's tourism-marketing team, Visit Florida, maintains that Florida is the top U.S. travel destination for international travelers based on market share.
Florida's tourism statistics for the 3rd quarter of 2022 highlighted a marked increase of 8% from the same period back in 2019, before the pandemic slowed the industry to a halt. This growth is certainly a good indicator for the recovery of tourism in the state of Florida. However, the most interesting part of this statistic lies in the source of tourism. While positive net gain can be attributed to an almost 12% increase in domestic travelers, international travel to Florida dropped by about 30%!
The United States Travel Association has estimated that international travel to the U.S. overall is around 34% below pre-pandemic numbers. Of course a global pandemic is bound to affect tourism negatively, but there is still a huge lag in our country's tourism sector. In part, this is due to the Federal Administration's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for foreign air travelers which was extended again to the 8th of April. Previously, the mandate was set to end this January.
Unfortunately, this mandate extension is not the only factor holding back Florida's international tourism industry. Dana Young, CEO of Visit Florida, has expressed concerns that the tourism industry will continue to suffer due to global inflation limiting vacation travel. She also called attention to holdup regarding visitor visas. Young elaborated that, "The wait time to get an interview for a visa in Mexico City is 693 days. In Lima, Peru, it is 831 days."
Although the U.S. Travel Association reports that steps are being taken to reduce wait times for visitor visas, currently the Sunshine State is feeling the residual effects of this delay.
In the meantime, Visit Florida is seeking $100 million in state funding for the next fiscal year in order to mitigate all the negative media reports regarding excessive hurricane damage and COVID-19. The agency is hoping to set an example while breathing life into the powerhouse that is Florida's tourism industry.