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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.
 

Follow @HatterLynn

Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University and Florida State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master's in Professional Communication. Lynn has been with WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She has worked with several organizations, including Kaiser Health News.  Lynn has also partnered with USC-Annenberg's Center for Child Wellbeing on the nationally acclaimed series "Committed," which explored the prevalence of involuntary commitment use on children.
She serves on the board of RTDNA and the United Way of the Big Bend, with previous service on the board of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida.

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