Florida tourism

Leaders say there are plenty of areas for tourists to love. They say the best way to help the Gulf Coast region recover is by visiting and supporting local businesses.

Champions of short-term rentals say they provide income for homeowners and boost tourism, while critics say a revolving cast of visitors can negatively impact neighborhoods.

The Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency reported an 18.3% increase in international tourists compared to 2022.

With heat waves, fires, and storms becoming more frequent and intense, small businesses increasingly see extreme weather as their next long-term challenge.

Visit Florida's CEO says the drop is partly due to increased competition from other states and countries that shut down longer than Florida did during the pandemic.

The group of former governors, Congress members, and presidential administration officials filed a friend of the court brief in Disney's federal lawsuit against DeSantis.

The state's tourism agency, Visit Florida, estimated a record 37.9 million visitors from January through March.

Florida's busy tourism season is fast approaching. The early arrival of red tide during the spring break period may concern some visitors to the greater Tampa Bay region.

The U.S. Travel Association estimated that international travel to the U.S. was 34 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

Visit Florida estimates the state attracted 35 million travelers during the third quarter, a 6.9 percent increase from 2021. The estimate was also 8% above the same period of 2019, before the pandemic.