Florida international visitation spikes in 2023, overall remains near record levels

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida was host to 135 million visitors in 2023, and its international visitation was solidly up from last year, VISIT FLORIDA announced Friday.

Of the 135 million, 8.3 million were international and 122.9 million were domestic. The other 3.8 million were from Canada.

The international visitation is up 18.3% from 2022’s nearly seven million global visitors, which VISIT FLORIDA celebrated is a near-total recovery from when the coronavirus pandemic began, which tanked tourism.

The total of 135 million is just around two million less than 2022’s record-breaking year overall.

And in the fourth quarter of 2023, Florida had 2.3 million international visitors, which is 15.9% higher than the last quarter of 2022.

VISIT FLORIDA also pointed to the “financial burden of inflation” and “rising travel costs” as factors the state had overcome in 2023.

“Even as we faced the challenges of rising travel costs and widespread inflation, Florida’s tourism sector not only persevered but flourished,” said Dana Young, president and CEO of VISIT FLORIDA. “From record air travel numbers to the significant return of international visitors, Florida continues to shine.”

The group also pointed to Fort Myers’ tourism rebound from 2022’s Hurricane Ian.

Fort Myers had reopened 76% of hotel rooms, and for the last quarter of 2023, the city’s visitation was up 65.8% from the prior quarter, when it dealt with the impacts of Ian.