The state of Florida received in the first three months of 2019 a record number of tourists – 35.7 million, which is 5.8% more than in the same period of 2018, reported the state governor, Ron DeSantis.
The origin of tourists visiting Florida remains eminently national, but the number of foreigners also increases, with Canadians leading the way.
Of the total visitors, 31.6 million arrived from other parts of the United States, which means an increase of 6.8% over the first quarter of 2018, said DeSantis.
From more than 2.6 million foreigners who visited the state from January to March, 1.4 million were Canadian, an increase of 1.3% with respect to the same period of 2018.
More than 6.4 million tourists arrived in the first quarter through the Orlando International Airport, the city of central Florida, which was in 2018 the main American tourist destination.
Florida registered 126.1 million visitors in 2018, the eighth consecutive year in which a record in the number of tourists was achieved. The figure represented a 6.2% increase compared to 2017 when they were 118.8 million.
Of the 2018 total, 111.8 million were tourists from other parts of the United States and the rest from abroad.
Last week it was announced that Orlando again revalidated its title of the first tourist destination in the United States with 75 million visitors in 2018.
The figure meant an increase of 4.2% compared to 2017 when visitors were 72 million.
The record of 2018 was achieved thanks to the increased hotel capacity and the visits of Latin American tourists, according to the president and executive director of the agency Visit Orlando, George Aguel.