According to a study by Visit Florida, travelers to Florida spent a record $124.9 billion in the state in 2022, up $20 billion from the previous year.
The Sunshine State was visited by 137.4 million people in 2022 and 97 cents of every dollar spent stayed in the state's economy, according to the 2022 Economic Impact Report released last week.
The sun sets over the Gulf of Mexico at Casey Key, one of Florida's many tourist destinations.
Chip Barnett
“Whether for business or vacation, people continue to visit Florida and support Florida's businesses because we are committed to keeping the economy open and allowing businesses to thrive without arbitrary government restrictions,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Friday Explanation.
“The impact of trade and tourism on Florida’s economy cannot be overstated,” said Dana Young, president and CEO of Visit Florida. “Florida has demonstrated that it is growing faster than national economic trends that have set back many other states.”
On average, visitors contribute $333 million per day to Florida's economy.
The data in the report showed that in 2022:
- Tourism-supported employment exceeded the pre-pandemic peak by 422,000 and grew to 2 million jobs, with direct employment accounting for 66% of the total at 1.3 million jobs;
- Visitors from the United States spent $112.7 billion, while international visitors spent $12.2 billion;
- By comparison, in 2021, domestic visitors to Florida spent $99.4 billion and international visitors spent $5.7 billion;
- Tourism accounted for 9.5% of all jobs in Florida, making tourism the second largest employer in Florida's industry.
- Tourism employment increased 16.8%, compared to the state's overall job growth of 7.6%.
- Travel and tourism generated $73 billion in wages for Florida workers; And
- One in six jobs in the private sector was supported by tourism.
The report also found that tourism generated $35.2 billion in taxes, including $18.9 billion in federal tax revenue, $8.1 billion in Florida state tax revenue and $8.2 billion dollars in local tax revenue.
“Florida tourism continues to set records,” DeSantis said on X. “We look forward to continuing to set records as people come from across the United States to experience the Free State of Florida.”
In November, the unemployment rate in the Orlando metropolitan statistical area increased to 3.0%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from 2.6% in November 2022. However, the labor force in the Orlando metropolitan area increased 3.1% since November 2022. 26,600 private sector jobs were created in the metropolitan area. an increase of 2.0% compared to last November.
The region led all other areas in leisure and hospitality employment gains in the state in November. Orlando is home to Walt Disney World, Universal Resorts, Seaworld and Legoland.
Florida is rated Triple-A by Moody's Investors Service, S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings; all three give the state a stable perspective.
In 2023, Florida ranked fifth nationally in state and local issuers selling debt. The state and its local governments sold $13.4 billion in bonds last year, down 16% from $16 billion in 2022, when they ranked fourth.
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