TAMPA, Fla. — Millions of visitors flocked to the Sunshine State in the third quarter of 2024, breaking previous records for that time of year.
Gov. Ron DeSantis announced 34.6 million people traveled to Florida, marking a 1.8% increase over the third quarter of 2023. Most visitors were within the United States but 2.3 million were from overseas and 582,000 were from Canada.
The news release from the governor said this marks the third consecutive quarter of record-setting visitation to Florida with the the first three quarters of the year showing an increase of two million visitors from the same period last year.
“The hard work and resilience of Floridians have been instrumental in keeping our tourism industry strong, showcasing the best of what our state has to offer,” said Dana Young, President & CEO of Visit Florida.
Locally, Tampa Bay is recovering from devastating hurricanes and officials are trying to boost tourism to help get the area back on track. To attract visitors, three major sporting events are set to bring thousands to the area.
Inter Miami CF will face off against Orlando City SC in February, the Savannah Bananas will be playing a game in March and the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs will play at Raymond James in 2027.
These sporting events mark a significant opportunity for economic recovery and community revitalization across Tampa Bay as officials say they are expected to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors and inject millions into the local economy, benefiting the tourism and hospitality sectors.
Officials on Florida's Gulf Coast are encouraging people to visit as the community recovers. The tourism promotion agency for the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area said in a news release that 80% of hotels and businesses in the area are open for business, even as clean-up and recovery continues.
The state tourism promotion agency says it plans to spend $5.7 million to promote Florida as a tourism destination following the hurricanes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.