TORONTO — Visitors have returned to ******* in droves and the numbers prove it.

According to VISIT *******, the destination has recorded its strongest international visitation numbers the state has seen since 2019, prior to the ********.

New estimates from the organization have found that international visitors have dramatically increased travel to *******. Calendar Year 2023 (Q1 and Q2) saw massive increases in overseas (+21.8%) and Canadian (+81.1%) visitation compared to the same time period in 2022.

In total, ******* welcomed 33.1 million visitors between April and June 2023, with 1.9 million of those being overseas visitors and 846,000 Canadian visitors. ******* also continues to beat records for annual visitation, with 70.8 million visitors in the 2023 calendar year.

“VISIT ******* has been laser-focused on building our key international markets and ensuring the returns of international visitors to ******* and that work has paid off,” said Dana Young, VISIT ******* President and CEO. “While other states have finally opened their doors to domestic visitors and created more competition, ******* is again leading in international visitors. ******* has the largest share of international visitors ahead of New York and California and we lead the nation in overseas arrival recovery compared to 2019.”

Highlights from VISIT *******’s latest visitation estimates include:

• For the first two quarters of 2023, ******* saw massive increases in overseas and Canadian visitation, up 21.8% and 81.1% respectively while domestic visitation saw a small drop of 1.1% during the same period.
  
• Total visitation for Calendar Year 2023 reached 70.8 million, an increase of 1.3% over the first six months of 2022 and 4.5% above 2019 pre-******** levels.
  
• For Q2 2023, ******* still saw significant quarterly increases with overseas visitation up 11% and Canadian visitation up 20.8% over Q2 2022. Domestic visitation was 4.6% above Q2 2019.
  
• Preliminary estimates indicate that 33.1 million total visitors travelled to ******* in the second quarter of 2023, an increase of 2.6% from Q2 2019.
  
• Q2 2023 visitation is estimated at 30.3 million domestic visitors, 1.9 million international visitors, and 846,000 Canadian visitors.
  
• Domestic visitors accounted for 91.6% of visitors in Q2 2023, while overseas visitors were 5.9% and Canadian visitors were 2.6%.
  
• Preliminary data shows that for the second year in a row, ******* leads the nation with largest market share of overseas visitors in 2022, which is only the second time ever that any state has had a larger share than New York. 

Additionally, ******* is leading the United States in overseas visitation post-********, with an 80% recovery rate in comparison to 2019 numbers. New York and California follow close behind at 75% and 68%, respectively. The national rate for overseas arrival also trails ******* at 73%.

For more information go to www.visitflorida.org.