Tourism and its related industries make up one of the largest sectors of the economy of the American state of Florida and is also important to the state's culture and politics.
Florida's tourism industry took off at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th with large infrastructure projects and advances in technology allowing tourists to easily visit Florida. Major amusement parks were constructed starting in the 1930s with Walt Disney World becoming the most visited amusement park in the world by the end of the 20th century. Florida's state parks, outdoor recreational opportunities, and space launch sites also contribute to the industry.
In 1885 industrialist Henry Flagler began building a grand hotel in St. Augustine, Florida, the Ponce de Leon Hotel.[1] The Ponce de Leon Hotel opened on January 10, 1888.[2] By April of that year, Flagler acquired a second hotel in St. Augustine, the Casa Monica Hotel, which he renamed Cordova. He then built a third hotel, the Hotel Alcazar, which opened in 1898.[3][pageneeded] Stories about the quality of hunting and fishing to be had in Florida published in newspapers and magazines attracted tourists from the late 1800s onwards.[4]
The tourism industry in Florida began in earnest after the completion of Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway allowed tourist from wealthy northern cities to easily reach vacation destinations in Florida.[5] Continuing to develop hotel facilities to entice northern tourists to visit Florida, Flagler bought and expanded the Ormond Hotel in Ormond Beach.[1] The Dixie Highway opened up Florida to automobile-based tourism. This early tourist boom occurred in the context of racial segregation with major attractions being white only.[6]
Florida's first amusement park, Cypress Gardens, opened in 1936.[7] For much of this time Miami competed with Havana, Cuba as the premier winter destination for wealthy North Americans.[5]
Many beach towns are popular tourist destinations, particularly during winter and spring break. The spring break tradition brings significant numbers of young, primarily college aged, tourists to Florida but also created issues for older tourists and locals. Many beach towns and cities have become less welcoming of spring breakers.[8]
Twenty-three million tourists visited Florida beaches in 2000, spending $22billion. The public has a right to beach access under the public trust doctrine, but some areas have access effectively blocked by private owners for a long distance.[9]
In 2015, Florida broke the 100-million visitor mark for the first time in state history by hosting a record 105million visitors.[10][11] The state has set tourism records for eight consecutive years, most recently breaking the 120-million visitor mark for the first time in 2018 with 126.1million visitors reported.[12]
Nearly 1.4million people were employed in the tourism industry in 2016 (a record for the state, surpassing the 1.2million employment from 2015).[13][10]
Data released shows 30.9 million visitors coming to the state from October to December 2021, up nearly 60% from the same period in 2020 and topping pre-pandemic levels from the same quarter before the COVID-19 pandemic.[14]
Florida's many state parks and protected areas receive a lot of visitors as well with 25.2million visitors visiting Florida State Parks in 2013.[18]
The Everglades are a major outdoor tourist attraction, however drought periodically impacts the industry.[19]
Hunting
Florida's hunting industry is worth more than a billion dollars annually. Commercial hunting ranches provide hunting opportunities to both Floridians and tourists. Many are operated as game farms. Hunting ranches and preserves sometimes operate as private clubs.[20]
Some hunters travel to south Florida to target the endemic Osceola turkey.[21] Tourists and guides which cater to them have also started to target invasive Green Iguanas as their range expands in the state.[22]
Islamorada in the Florida Keys is a major charter fishing hub with charter operations going back to the late 1930s.[28]Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada is particularly well known for its history of hosting out of state anglers and fishing boats.[29]Stuart, Florida contends for the title of “The Sailfish Capital of the World” with many local guides specializing in that species.[30]
Hurricanes can have a negative impact on the number of fishing tourists.[31]
The Space Coast Office of Tourism is the body responsible for the marketing of tourism operations in Brevard County, Florida. The office is funded through the Tourist Development Tax, which is then used to provide advertising and marketing and other projects for the region and to develop tourism-related programs.
PortMiami is the busiest cruise/passenger port in the world.[35][36][37] It accommodates major cruise lines such as Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, and MSC, among others, and also serves as the homeport of the largest cruise ship in the world by gross tonnage, Icon of the Seas. Over 7.2 million cruise passengers pass through the port each year (FY2023/2024).[38]
The Daytona 500 is regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse.[40] Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NASCAR Cup Series race. It is also the series' first race of the year; this phenomenon is unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start. From 1995–2020, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 were the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500 which in turn greatly surpasses the Daytona 500 in gate attendance and international viewing. In 2021 the Indianapolis 500 surpassed the Daytona 500 in TV ratings and viewership.[41][42] The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.[43]
The race serves as the final event of Speedweeks and is also known as "The Great American Race" or the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing".[44][45][46] Since its inception, the race has been held in mid-to-late February. From 1971 to 2011, and again since 2018, the event has been as associated with Presidents Day weekend,[47] taking place on the third Sunday of February (except for when the event lands on Valentine’s Day) and since 2022, it was held on the same day that the NBA All-Star Game was held and one week after the Super Bowl. On eight occasions, the race has been run on Valentine's Day.
Since 1997, the winner of the Daytona 500 has been presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in Victory Lane, and the winning car is displayed in race-winning condition for one year at Daytona 500 Experience, a museum and gallery adjacent to Daytona International Speedway.
Due to its economic significance and large workforce the tourism industry is important in the Politics of Florida. Florida politicians have generally been supportive of the tourism industry, however there has been some conflict between politicians and the industry over social issues including Disney v. DeSantis which involved the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.[48]
A special Tourist Development Tax is levied on visitors with funds directed to local Tourist Development Councils.[49]
Visit Florida (stylized as VISIT FLORIDA) is Florida's official tourism marketing corporation, serving as Florida's official source for travel planning to visitors across the globe. Visit Florida operates as a nonprofit corporation, it was created as a public/private partnership by the Florida Legislature in 1996.[50]
Popular culture
The silent film A Florida Enchantment (1914) was one of the first to feature Florida as an exotic vacation destination of the wealthy where traditional northern norms did not necessarily hold, this representation of Florida as a playground or fairytale land would continue.[5]
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