The state’s tourism officials say Florida broke records in 2013 in nearly every tourism category. The group is already setting lofty goals for this year.
Preliminary numbers show the state hosted about 95-million visitors in 2013. Governor Rick Scott says he wants to see that number keep growing and he’s requesting $100-million in the next budget to help make it happen. Visit Florida Chief Marketing Officer Paul Phipps says he thinks it can be done.
"Whether you’re young families, young and free, mature boomers--we are number one in every one of those categories. Florida is the number one destination for domestic leisure travel and it’s certainly, if it’s not number one, it’s among the top in the world,” Phipps said.
But Phipps says those numbers don’t come organically. Visit Florida builds a marketing plan each year, which he says has become an example for other tourist organizations around the country. He adds the month of January saw year-over-year growth from 2013 to 2014, too.
