2017 Sets Tourism Record for Florida

Florida set a record for tourism in 2017, according to a statement from the Governor's Office.

The Sunshine State played host to roughly 116.5 million visitors, breaking the record set the previous year, Rick Scott's statement said.

The data indicate that the vast bulk of the visitors to Florida, 102.3 million people, came from other parts of the U.S. 

The figures indicate the rest of Florida's company came from Canada and from overseas.

The state tourism marketing agency, Visit Florida, had estimated that Florida would lose in the neighborhood of 1.8 million prospective visitors because of the impact from Hurricane Irma.

The storm reportedly took a heavy tourism toll in central Florida, where themed attractions and even Orlando International Airport faced closures and cancellations in the face of the hurricane and its immediate aftermath.

Officials said that, even though Irma put a dent in tourism, it was not enough of a dent to keep the industry from having a record final quarter for 2017 and a record for the year.

Tourism officials said that they suspected the reason behind the record numbers, despite the weather concerns, came because of aggressive marketing by the industry and resilience among prospective visitors.

Attractions and marketers rose to meet the challenges posed by the storm season concerns, and the traveling public was able to adjust plans enough to cope with any uncertainties, officials said.


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