TAMPA, Fla. – A record number of tourists flocked to ******* last year as the nation’s economy continued its recovery after the Great Recession.

Gov. Rick Scott was to announce Monday during a visit to Tampa International Airport that more than 97 million visited the state last year according to estimates prepared by Visit *******, the state’s tourism marketing arm.

That’s the fourth year in a row that the state has had a record number of tourists come to the state. Most of the visitors were from the United States, but millions also came from overseas and from Canada.

“*******’s natural beauty, pristine beaches and exciting attractions continue to bring countless visitors to our state and provide valuable jobs for our families,” said Scott in a statement.

Despite the record year of 97.3 million tourists ******* fell a little bit short of reaching Scott’s goal of having 100 million tourists visit in 2014. Nearly 94 million people visited the state the previous year.

Visit *******, the state’s tourism marketing company, estimates that 11.5 million visitors were from overseas and 3.8 million tourists came from Canada. Those are increases over 2013 as well. State officials told a legislative committee last year that ******* is “growing at the expense of our competition” as Americans are shifting away from visiting other places to come to *******.

Since becoming governor Scott has pushed to increase the amount of money spent on marketing and advertising by Visit *******. This year he is seeking an increase of $17.5 million. It’s not clear, however, if state legislators will go along with the request.

Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater and chairman of the committee that oversees Visit *******’s budget, said last week that while the numbers have jumped the last few years that another large boost in funding may not produce another large jump in the number of visitors.