Visit Florida Report Boasts Huge Increase in FL Tourism
Prior to the current surge on coronavirus cases, Florida tourism rebounded almost to pre-pandemic levels during the 2021 second quarter. In a report issued yesterday by Visit Florida, approximately 31.7 million people visited the Sunshine State between April 1 and June 30th.
The number represents an increase of 223.4% from 2020 visitors during the same period and only a 2.2% reduction during the same time in 2019. It also represents a 16.3% increase in visitor numbers as compared to the first quarter of this year, according to Forbes magazine.
Lucky for the Walt Disney World Resort, Orland International Airport welcomed the most people traveling by air wth 5.4 millions passengers. That number represented an almost 678% increase in tourism over the previous year.
Image: OrlandoAirports.net
Hotels also showed an increase of almost 40% in occupancy over the quarter compared to 2020. Mainly domestic guests visited the state with many international travelers still not able to enter the country, including those traveling from the United Kingdom who often summer holiday in the Orlando area.
Credit: Disney
Impacts on 3rd Quarter Travel
Of course, Orlando tourism experts continue to watch the region and the impact of the current surge in coronavirus cases. Just yesterday, Florida reported their largest number of coronavirus cases on any given day throughout the pandemic, logging 56,036 positive tests in a single day of reporting. It’s important to note that Florida did not report cases on Sunday.
Source: CNBC.com
Just last week, Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek noted that both the Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort continue to increase capacity aggresively but with an eye of public health measures.
Image Credit: Disney
Chapek also noted that the company still sees “really strong demand for our parks,” based on park reservations. With “the World’s Most Magical Celebration” less than 50 days away, we imagine this trend in tourism to certainly continue at Walt Disney World as fall approaches.
Photo: Disney Cruise Line
The third quarter numbers should also reflect a return to the seas for Disney Cruise Line with Disney Dream leaving Port Canaveral for the first time in 16 months recently. Disney Fantasy returns to sailing next month as well.
