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Tourism Still Big Business In Florida

Tourism is still Florida’s number one industry with places like Disney World a crowd favorite. But Visit Florida CEO Will Seacombe says some other spots are attracting more attention these days:

“We’re doing a much better job of promoting a lot of 'off the beaten track’ opportunities to explore the original Florida. And a lot of that, in a large part this year, is due to the platform Of Viva Florida, and the 500 year anniversary of when Juan Ponce de Leon first landed", he said.

Florida is on track for a third consecutive record year for visitors. In the first six months of 2013, nearly fifty million tourists came to the state – the largest six-month period the tourism industry has ever had.

The state gets most of its income through a sales tax, and visitors brought in more than $33 billion in the first half of the year.
 

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Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lynn has served as reporter/producer for WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She is an award-winning member of the Capital Press Corps and has participated in the NPR Kaiser Health News Reporting Partnership and NPR Education Initiative. 

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