Florida tourism hits record number in 2022
TALLAHASSEE - Bolstered by travelers from other states, Florida had a record 137.6 million visitors in 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis' office said Wednesday.
People from other states accounted for just under 93 percent of Florida's tourists.
The overall visitor total was 12.9 percent higher than in 2021 and 5 percent higher than in 2019, the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the state.
The pandemic cut overall visitors to 79.397 million in 2020. Leaders of the Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency have recently expressed concerns about a lag in international tourists returning to pre-pandemic levels because of visa wait times and vaccine requirements.