A record 97.3 million visitors traveled to Florida in 2014, the fourth consecutive record year, according to preliminary estimates Monday by Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation.
Tourism increased 3.9 percent over 2013, Visit Florida said. The previous record was 93.7 million tourists in 2013.
Last year, about 11.5 million visitors came from overseas, with 3.8 million more from Canada, up 2.6 percent and 2.4 percent respectively. Both were records.
The improving economy and increased flights between Florida and Europe and Latin America fueled higher tourism statewide and in South Florida.
In Broward County, 14 million travelers visited last year, spending $11.4 billion, according to data from the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau. That was up from 13.4 million visitors and $10.6 billion in spending in 2013.
Palm Beach County is forecast to see more than 6.24 million visitors in 2014, up from 6 million the year earlier, but final numbers are not complete.
Statewide, a record number of people — 1,135,700 — were employed in the travel industry in 2014, up 3.6 percent from the year before, Visit Florida said.
The state Department of Economic Opportunity estimates that of the 9.1 million people currently employed in Florida, 1.1 million have jobs tied to the tourism industry.
New hotels contributed jobs in South Florida. They included the 105-room Hampton Inn & Suites in Coconut Creek, which opened in summer, employing about 30 people. Another was the 156-suite Residence Inn by Marriott Fort Lauderdale Airport and Cruise Port hotel in Dania Beach, which opened in October, bringing more than 60 new jobs to the area.
The new 95-room Fairfield Inn & Suites in Delray Beach also recruited many of its 30 employees in 2014.
The increase in visitors also means additional revenue for the state.
Visit Florida President and CEO Will Seccombe told legislators last week that about 12 percent of all state sales-tax revenue comes from people who don’t live in Florida.
Tourism officials think they can boost the number of visitors with additional money for marketing and by getting people to also consider Florida for ecotourism and more off-the-beaten path trips.
Gov. Rick Scott has asked lawmakers to increase tourism-marketing funding from $74 million in the current fiscal year to $85 million during the budget year that begins July 1. He has been pushing for Florida to surpass 100 million visitors a year.
Visit Florida hopes to attract wealthier international travelers, who will spend more, and to entice people to consider Florida for bicycle trips and small-downtown shopping in addition to Disney World and the beaches. Seccombe outlined the marketing plan during an appearance before a Senate budget panel last week.
“With all the marketing in the world we couldn’t put a whole lot more people down into the Florida Keys today,” Seccombe said. “They’re running 92, 95 percent occupancy in the Keys. But there are areas that don’t have that high occupancy. We’re working very hard in our strategic planning process to identify the need areas of the state.”
Some senators last week raised questions about the return on investment if they increase funding for Visit Florida to $85 million. Senate Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said it appears that the increase in tourism numbers has gone up at a slower rate than the state’s spending.
“To me, potentially, we’re getting to a situation where maybe we’ve spent or are spending what we need,” Latvala said during last week’s meeting of his panel.
Seccombe estimated that about 50 million visitors each year would come to Florida regardless of advertising, due to family, friends and other personal interests.
Information from the News Service of Florida was used in this report.
asatchell@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4209 or Twitter@TheSatchreport
