florida tourism numbers down

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Florida tourism numbers goes down slightly in 2023

Visitors to Florida last year fell short of 2022′s record numbers, as a post-pandemic rebound in international travelers couldn’t overcome a noticeable drop-off in domestic tourism late in the year.

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The Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency Friday reported that Florida had an estimated 135.02 million tourists in 2023, down from 137.4 million in 2022.

Visit Florida, however, pointed to increases from 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted global travel, and improved international tourist numbers. The state drew about 131.1 million tourists in 2019.

“Even as we faced the challenges of rising travel costs and widespread inflation, Florida’s tourism sector not only persevered but flourished (in 2023),” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in a prepared statement. “From record air travel numbers to the significant return of international visitors, Florida continues to shine.”

Read: Florida high school requires permission slips for students to see Disney’s ‘Tangled’

The agency said 2.34 million overseas visitors in the fourth quarter of 2023 marked a 15.9 percent increase from the final quarter of 2022. Also, 1.07 million Canadians in the fourth quarter of 2023 was a 22 percent improvement from the same period in 2022.

But the overall fourth-quarter number in 2023 of 29.8 million tourists was down from 32.9 million during the same period in 2022. U.S. travelers dropped 12.1 percent.

Florida totaled 122.89 million U.S. tourists in 2023, down from almost 127.8 million in 2022. The domestic tourist number was about 117.2 million in 2019.

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For much of the past year, industry officials have pointed to an increase in competition from other states and countries that were closed longer than Florida during the pandemic.

As pandemic restrictions lifted, Visit Florida emphasized attracting international visitors, who officials say stay longer and spend more money than domestic travelers.

Visit Florida reported 8.31 million overseas travelers in 2023, up from 7 million in 2022. Canadians accounted for 3.822 million visitors in 2023, up from about 2.63 million in 2022.

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The agency indicated Florida has seen an increase in people flying to the state, accounting for 37.3 percent of the domestic visits, “the largest share of air visitors since 2016.”

As state lawmakers begin budget negotiations for the upcoming 2024-2025 fiscal year, the Senate has proposed providing $80 million for Visit Florida, the same amount as in the current year. The House has countered with a $30 million proposal. Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended $105 million.

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Less visitors traveled to Florida in 2023

Florida had an estimated 135.02 million tourists in 2023, down from 137.4 million in 2022, by news service of florida • published february 18, 2024 • updated on february 18, 2024 at 7:41 pm.

Visitors to Florida last year fell short of 2022’s record numbers, as a post-pandemic rebound in international travelers couldn’t overcome a noticeable drop-off in domestic tourism late in the year.

The Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency Friday reported that Florida had an estimated 135.02 million tourists in 2023, down from 137.4 million in 2022.

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“Even as we faced the challenges of rising travel costs and widespread inflation, Florida's tourism sector not only persevered but flourished (in 2023),” Visit Florida President and CEO Dana Young said in a prepared statement. “From record air travel numbers to the significant return of international visitors, Florida continues to shine.”

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But the overall fourth-quarter number in 2023 of 29.8 million tourists was down from 32.9 million during the same period in 2022. U.S. travelers dropped 12.1 percent.

Florida totaled 122.89 million U.S. tourists in 2023, down from almost 127.8 million in 2022. The domestic tourist number was about 117.2 million in 2019.

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For much of the past year, industry officials have pointed to an increase in competition from other states and countries that were closed longer than Florida during the pandemic.

As pandemic restrictions lifted, Visit Florida emphasized attracting international visitors, who officials say stay longer and spend more money than domestic travelers.

Visit Florida reported 8.31 million overseas travelers in 2023, up from 7 million in 2022. Canadians accounted for 3.822 million visitors in 2023, up from about 2.63 million in 2022.

The agency indicated Florida has seen an increase in people flying to the state, accounting for 37.3 percent of the domestic visits, “the largest share of air visitors since 2016.”

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Florida's latest tourism numbers just dropped, what it means for the state

Visit Florida has dropped the latest numbers for our state’s tourism, and they show a dip in travelers.

In the second quarter of 2023, the State of Florida saw a little more than 33 million visitors. It’s keeping us on pace to beat out our record from last year, but we have 1.2% fewer tourists compared to what we saw during the same time last year.

“We figured that we would start to even out and become more manageable because the numbers from 22 were just not sustainable,” explained Stacy Ritter.

Ritter is with Visit Lauderdale, and she said they were expecting a slower summer. The reasons as to why we have had one vary.

“From what I am told,” stated Ritter. “Americans are crawling all over Europe. There’s a lot of pent-up demand for people who have been there for years. I also think there is some Florida over-saturation. For a couple of years, we were the only place you could come with no competition, so people came, and they came back and back again. But now they can go everywhere.”

Why they are choosing to go elsewhere also varies.

We spoke to Ritter last month when roughly 10 convention events had pulled out of Greater Fort Lauderdale. Now they are up to 13 since May. Ritter shared the businesses have cited the state’s political climate and controversial policies coming from the governor’s office.

During the start of this year, we also saw groups like the NAACP and Equality Florida issuing travel advisories, telling travelers to reconsider coming to Florida because of tensions regarding African American studies and DEI curriculum in the state, as well as new policies.

The CEO of Visit Florida told the Orlando Sentinel that those reasons did not play a meaningful role in the lowered numbers during the second quarter, saying:

“We are continuing to see a very diverse group of vacationers that are coming to Florida,” they are spending money here, supporting our state economy. We value all of them, and we continue to encourage people to come.”

Ritter attested to that, “As it relates to group business, we actually poll higher in LGBTQ and multicultural group business than does our competitive set.”

According to the numbers, in Q2, most of Florida’s international tourists were from Canada, followed by the United Kingdom.

As for what those in the tourism industry are hoping to see next, hopefully, a busy winter, “We expect it will even out, it will be similar to 22, if we collect a half a million or a million dollars less of TDT, in calendar 23 compared to 22, we will consider it a very successful year,” stated Ritter.

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Subscriber only, florida tourism down in 2023 as rise in foreign visitors can’t offset drop in domestic travelers.

The St. Johns Rivership Co. takes tourists up the St. Johns River on Aug. 19, 2023, aboard the Barbara-Lee. The Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency Friday reported the state had an estimated 135.02 million tourists in 2023, down from 137.4 million in 2022. (Patrick Connolly/Orlando Sentinel)

The Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency Friday reported that Florida had an estimated 135.02 million tourists in 2023, down from 137.4 million in 2022.

But the overall fourth-quarter number in 2023 of 29.8 million tourists was down from 32.9 million during the same period in 2022. U.S. travelers dropped 12.1 percent.

Florida totaled 122.89 million U.S. tourists in 2023, down from almost 127.8 million in 2022. The domestic tourist number was about 117.2 million in 2019.

For much of the past year, industry officials have pointed to an increase in competition from other states and countries that were closed longer than Florida during the pandemic.

As pandemic restrictions lifted, Visit Florida emphasized attracting international visitors, who officials say stay longer and spend more money than domestic travelers.

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Visit Florida reported 8.31 million overseas travelers in 2023, up from 7 million in 2022. Canadians accounted for 3.822 million visitors in 2023, up from about 2.63 million in 2022.

The agency indicated Florida has seen an increase in people flying to the state, accounting for 37.3 percent of the domestic visits, “the largest share of air visitors since 2016.”

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Florida is seeing fewer tourists as states rebound from the pandemic

The number of people traveling to Florida during the second quarter of 2023 decreased compared to a year earlier, according to estimates released this week by the state’s tourism-marketing agency.

Florida drew an estimated 33.092 million visitors during the quarter, keeping the state slightly ahead of an overall record pace of visitors in 2022. But the figure from April through June represented a 1.2% decrease from the second quarter of 2022, when it totaled 33.485 million.

Tourists from other parts of the U.S., who make up the bulk of Florida travelers, were off an estimated 2.4% from the same period in 2022.

Dana Young, president and CEO of the Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency, pointed to increased competition from other states and countries that shut down longer than Florida during the pandemic. But she also touted an increase this year in international tourists in Florida.

“We compete globally, not just here in the U.S.,” Young told The News Service of Florida. “Destinations are opening up. And when they do, they're going to be using all those dollars they didn't spend (during the pandemic) to try and lure their people back. So, the fact that we have these massive increases in international visitation is great.”

Groups such as the NAACP, Equality Florida and the League of United Latin American Citizens in recent months have issued travel advisories about Florida because of their opposition to a series of decisions on issues such as how Black history is taught and restricting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

But Young said the advisories haven’t impacted tourism in “any meaningful way.”

“We are continuing to see a very diverse group of vacationers that are coming to Florida,” Young said. “They are spending money here, supporting our state economy. We value all of them, and we continue to encourage people to come.”

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The tourism industry took a massive hit in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and international visitors have been slower to return than U.S. tourists. Factors have included now-lifted pandemic travel regulations, unfavorable currency exchange rates and lengthy visa wait times in foreign countries.

“We started really leaning in to bringing back international visitation in 2021,” Young said. “And have continued that push.”

During the second quarter of 2023, Florida drew an estimated 1.941 million overseas visitors, up from 1.748 million during the same period in 2022, according to the estimates.

Florida attracted 34.646 million U.S. visitors in the first quarter of this year and 30.305 million in the second. It also attracted 1.305 million Canadian visitors during the first quarter and 846,000 in the second quarter.

“Destinations are opening up. And when they do, they're going to be using all those dollars they didn't spend to try and lure their people back. So, fact that we have these massive increases in international visitation is great.”

The overall drop in year-to-year tourism figures was the first for a quarter since the first three months of 2021. But Florida’s total visitors for the first half of 2023 were up 1.3% from the first half of 2022. Also, the number exceeded the total in the first half of 2019, before the pandemic hit.

READ MORE: O Canada: Canadian tourists are ‘flocking’ to Florida

Some tourism officials had warned in recent weeks to expect a fall-off as other states try to catch up.

As an example, the Hillsborough County Tourist Development Council posted bed-tax collections for May that were 2.3% lower than a year earlier, with June 5.5% off the 2022 figure.

In his company’s second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 9, Disney CEO Bob Iger said a decline in business at Walt Disney World properties stemmed from an overall “softening” of tourism in many pockets of Florida.

“As post-COVID pent-up demand continues to level off in Florida, local tax data shows evidence of some softening in several major Florida tourism markets. And the strong dollar is expected to continue tamping down international visitation to the state,” Iger said. “However, Walt Disney World is still performing well above pre-COVID levels, 21% higher in revenue and 29% higher in operating income compared to fiscal 2019.”

Young said Hurricane Ian recovery also has played a part in shifting numbers for U.S. travelers. She said hotel stays are down 13% in the Fort Myers area after months of near-capacity room demand driven by repair workers.

Despite the recent increases, international travel this year remains behind pre-pandemic totals.

For the first half of the year, the state had an estimated 2.15 million Canadians visitors and 3.74 million overseas travelers. During the first half of 2019, Florida reported 2.4 million Canadians and 5.2 million overseas visitors.

Key West lost 5% of its population between 2020-2023, making it the fastest shrinking city in South Florida. Parkland was the fastest growing cities in the region with its population expanding by 9%.

Watch CBS News

Florida tourism numbers dip in second quarter

By CBS Miami Team

Updated on: August 16, 2023 / 2:00 PM EDT / CBS Miami

TALLAHASSEE - The number of people traveling to Florida during the second quarter of 2023 decreased compared to a year earlier, according to estimates released Wednesday by the state's tourism-marketing agency.

Florida drew an estimated 33.092 million visitors during the quarter, keeping the state slightly ahead of an overall record pace of visitors in 2022.

But the figure from April through June represented a 1.2 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2022, when it totaled 33.485 million.

Tourists from other parts of the U.S., who make up the bulk of Florida travelers, were off an estimated 2.4 percent from the same period in 2022.

Dana Young, president and CEO of the Visit Florida tourism-marketing agency, pointed to increased competition from other states and countries that shut down longer than Florida during the pandemic.

But she also touted an increase this year in international tourists in Florida.

"We compete globally, not just here in the U.S.," Young told The News Service of Florida.

"Destinations are opening up. And when they do, they're going to be using all those dollars they didn't spend (during the pandemic) to try and lure their people back. So, the fact that we have these massive increases in international visitation is great."

But Young said the advisories haven't impacted tourism in "any meaningful way."

"We are continuing to see a very diverse group of vacationers that are coming to Florida," Young said.

"They are spending money here, supporting our state economy. We value all of them, and we continue to encourage people to come."

The tourism industry took a massive hit in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and International visitors have been slower to return than U.S. tourists.

Factors have included now-lifted pandemic travel regulations, unfavorable currency exchange rates and lengthy visa wait times in foreign countries.

"We started really leaning in to bringing back international visitation in 2021," Young said. "And have continued that push."

During the second quarter of 2023, Florida drew an estimated 1.941 million overseas visitors, up from 1.748 million during the same period in 2022, according to the estimates.

Florida attracted 34.646 million U.S. visitors in the first quarter of this year and 30.305 million in the second.

It also attracted 1.305 million Canadian visitors during the first quarter and 846,000 in the second quarter.

The overall drop in year-to-year tourism figures was the first for a quarter since the first three months of 2021.

But Florida's total visitors for the first half of 2023 were up 1.3 percent from the first half of 2022.

Also, the number exceeded the total in the first half of 2019, before the pandemic hit.

Some tourism officials had warned in recent weeks to expect a fall-off as other states try to catch up.

As an example, the Hillsborough County Tourist Development Council posted bed-tax collections for May that were 2.3 percent lower than a year earlier, with June 5.5 percent off the 2022 figure.

In his company's second-quarter earnings call on Aug. 9, Disney CEO Bob Iger said a decline in business at Walt Disney World properties stemmed from an overall "softening" of tourism in many pockets of Florida.

"As post-COVID pent-up demand continues to level off in Florida, local tax data shows evidence of some softening in several major Florida tourism markets. And the strong dollar is expected to continue tamping down international visitation to the state," Iger said.

"However, Walt Disney World is still performing well above pre-COVID levels, 21 percent higher in revenue and 29 percent higher in operating income compared to fiscal 2019."

Young said Hurricane Ian recovery also has played a part in shifting numbers for U.S. travelers. She said hotel stays are down 13 percent in the Fort Myers area after months of near-capacity room demand driven by repair workers.

Despite the recent increases, international travel this year remains behind pre-pandemic totals.

The CBS Miami team is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSMiami.com.

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Despite Battle Over Politics, Florida Tourism Rolls On

Even as civil rights groups suggest travelers should rethink trips to the state because of policies enacted by its Republican lawmakers, it remains a tourism juggernaut. And some visitors say their spending actually supports opposition to the new laws.

A shop window is painted with a beach scene and the words “Hello Summer.” A group of people riding bikes on the opposite side of the street is reflected in the glass.

By Tariro Mzezewa

For months leading up to Jean Franco Rivera’s one-year wedding anniversary, he had the perfect plan to celebrate: Travel to Disney World and go on all his favorite rides with his husband, Ahmed, and brother-in-law, Luis. The three men, all gay and Latino, are originally from Puerto Rico, but now live in Texas. As the trip approached, ‌Jean Franco, 42, said they felt somewhat concerned about traveling to a state that had passed legislation targeting L.G.B.T.Q. people in recent months.

But in the end, they went.

And on a recent Saturday, they were just part of the usual throng of people at the Orlando theme park, waiting in line for Space Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy and Jean Franco’s favorite ride, Flight of Passage. At Disney World that day, you would never have known that the League of United Latin American Citizens, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the L.G.B.T.Q. organization Equality Florida had all recently issued warnings telling people to reconsider coming to Florida because of the policies of Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican lawmakers.

I had traveled to Florida in the wake of the N.A.A.C.P.’s advisory to see whether the warnings had any effect. The Riveras and other travelers told me that while they were against many laws recently passed in Florida,they didn’t feel that canceling their vacations would help anyone — or change the policies. In fact, several travelers said that they visited Disney and certain parts of Florida to get away from politics.

“Coming to Disney, especially, is like entering a safe zone,” ‌‌Stephanie Kate Jones, who was visiting the park from Wales in the United Kingdom, told me. “Coming here is a way to escape reality and the stress of everyday life.”

And while the warnings were widely covered outside the state , they have so far seemed to have little or no impact on tourism numbers.

“Travel has always transcended politics,” said Stacy Ritter, the president and chief executive of Visit Lauderdale, the Fort Lauderdale tourism organization. “People have always traveled to places where they don’t agree with the politics because they want to see something new, different. They want an experience. They want a vacation.”

DeSantis vs. Disney

Governor DeSantis, who was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2022 election, has introduced socially conservative policies, from the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” education bill limiting gender and sex education to the decision to bar the teaching of Advanced Placement African American history because it was a form of “ indoctrination ” to a tough crackdown on undocumented immigration.

Mr. DeSantis, who recently entered the 2024 presidential race, has also been in a dispute with Disney since last year, when the company said it would pause political donations in Florida‌ because of the‌ sex education bill. ‌ The two sides then began battling for control of the board that oversees Disney World’s development, with Mr. DeSantis trying to take control of it and limit Disney’s authority.

Disney sued the governor over the issue this spring and in May the company said it was scrapping a $1 billion development in Orlando.

While announcing his candidacy for presidency, Mr. DeSantis said that the N.A.A.C.P. advisory was “a total farce.” The travel warnings, he said, were a political stunt . “These left wing groups have been doing it for many, many years. And at the end of the day, what they’re doing is colluding with legacy media to try to manufacture a narrative,” he said.

But Brandon Wolf, the press secretary of Equality Florida said that the organization has received an increasing number of inquiries about whether it is safe for L.G.B.T.Q. travelers to go to Florida. “We felt it imperative that we answer the incoming inquiries honestly and completely,” he said.

In announcing L.U.L.A.C.’s advisory, the group’s president, Domingo Garcia, had warned that “DeSantis’ enforcement regulations will treat us like criminals, transporting a dangerous person who only wanted to visit family or enjoy Disney World.”

And Derrick Johnson, the president and chief executive of the N.A.A.C.P. said in an email in response to Mr. DeSantis’s comments: “As long as our contributions to this country and the powerful stories of our rich backgrounds, continued struggle and survival are denied, Black Americans need not pour our labor, time, or money into the state.”

The Sunshine State juggernaut

Florida is a tourism juggernaut. In 2022, it had 137.6 million visitors, the most in its history, according to Visit Florida, the state tourism organization, and in May the governor’s office proudly shared that Florida welcomed 37.9 million people in the first three months of this year.

Orlando remains the most-visited city in the United States — 74 million people traveled there in 2022. According to Visit Florida, in 2021, visitors to the state contributed $101.9 billion to Florida’s economy and supported more than 1.7 million Florida jobs.

While many Floridians said that travel warnings from civil rights organizations have symbolic meaning, few said they were concerned that people would stop visiting the state altogether. Some people recalled the backlash over North Carolina’s‌ 2016 “bathroom bill,” which kept transgender people from using bathrooms that aligned with their gender. The fallout over that bill was immediate and significant, leading to its repeal.

Nicolas Graf, associate dean at New York University’s School of Professional Studies’ Jonathan M. Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism, said a state’s policies might keep those who are politically active from visiting a destination, but “the notion that travelers — business or leisure travelers — will really change their behavior due to politics, I think that’s a minority of people.”

And that’s true across the political spectrum: Lance Toland, a conservative Georgia-based business owner who approves of Mr. DeSantis’s attempts to rein in Disney, said a state’s policies wouldn’t keep him from visiting. Liberal laws in California, for example, don’t keep him from going there, he said. “I can’t worry about what each state’s stance is. It doesn’t affect me.”

In many popular tourist spots, life was going on without interruption when I visited. In Winter Park, just north of Orlando, lines for restaurants like Prato, a casual Italian spot with a large outdoor patio, were lengthy. When I stopped several shoppers exiting upscale boutiques along Park Avenue, they said that while they had heard of the dispute between Disney and Mr. DeSantis, they hadn’t heard about the travel advisories.

Ashley Smith, 32, was visiting a friend in Winter Park for the weekend and was heading out for a boat tour of Winter Park’s lakes. Asked what she thought about the advisories, she said that she didn’t understand how limiting her travels could possibly be connected to the state’s political dramas.

A more welcoming stance

The advisories come after years of work by tourism officials across the state to expand its visitor base. In 2021, for example, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau announced that it had changed its name to Visit Lauderdale and it had a new flashy tagline: “Everyone Under the Sun.”

Visit Lauderdale was just one of several tourism boards in the state that, in the past decade, have recognized that international, Black, Latino and L.G.B.T.Q. travelers have the discretionary income to spend on vacations and real estate and that it would be smart to appeal to them.

But these days, tourism boards, destination marketing organizations and travel businesses around the state are trying to figure out how to keep appealing to a diverse range of travelers.

Many of them prefer not to address the controversy directly. Florida’s tourism marketing organizations are funded through a bed tax — when a traveler checks into a hotel or resort, a percentage of what they pay for their stay goes to fund the work done by visitors’ and tourism organizations. That tax is controlled by state statute. Leaders of three destination marketing organizations‌, all asking to speak anonymously, said that while they do not support the recently enacted laws‌ they are worried that criticizing Mr. DeSantis publicly could lead to retaliation by the Legislature, which could cut back or eliminate funding for their organizations.

Jen Cousins, the co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project and a mother of four who is part of a federal suit challenging the sex education bill, said she believes that players in the travel industry, including cruises, airlines, destination marketing organizations and others, ‌should speak up against the recent legislation. She also noted that in meetings with the education secretary, Miguel Cardona; the assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Adm. Rachel Levine; and the secretary of health and human services, Xavier Becerra, she and other activists were told they had the support in Washington, but, she said, “no one has stepped in.” The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to requests for comment.

Ms. Ritter, the president and chief executive of Visit Lauderdale, ‌was willing to go on the record. “Do I think the impact will be felt immediately? No, I don’t,” she said.

But, she said, she’s already seeing business and corporate travelers, who make up a significant part of the travel industry, look elsewhere. In the week after the civil rights organizations issued their warnings, seven large conferences and conventions walked back their plans to be in Fort Lauderdale, she said. Many event organizers, Ms. Ritter said, are looking ahead to events happening three to five years from now and far fewer are considering Florida. Her organization isn’t even bidding for certain events because they feel like a lost cause.

“And that’s directly related to state policies,” she said.

Not really Florida‌‌

Part of Jean Franco Rivera’s reason for going ahead with his anniversary trip was that he felt his travel dollars were actually being spent in opposition to Mr. DeSantis’s policies, because they were going to Disney. “Disney is standing up for our rights and being here feels like supporting their decision to stand up to DeSantis,” he said. “Many people who work at Disney are part of our community, the ‌L.G.B.T.Q. community, and being here is our way of supporting them.”

Many travelers‌ I met at Disney World and along the Jacksonville Beach Pier suggested that the parts of the state that they were most likely to visit were, in some way, not really Florida. ‌Key West, Miami, Wilton Manors, St. Petersburg and Sarasota traditionally vote Democratic and have swaths of ‌L.G.B.T.Q. and immigrant residents who, in many cases, disagree with the legislation being put forth. Visitors said that by supporting the economies of these places they could defy the state’s Republican lawmakers.

They also said they felt conflicted about the advisories, saying the warnings felt like an escalation of politics that could potentially harm local business owners, low-earning residents and liberal enclaves more than Mr. DeSantis or Republican lawmakers.

Some Florida residents felt the same way. “As a resident of Orlando, our tourist mecca, I don’t tend to advocate for a travel ban because a lot of our friends work in these low-paying travel jobs,” said Ms. Cousins. “They’re the ones being affected, not the top-paid C.E.O.s.”

For the moment, those involved in tourism in the state feel like they are walking a line. Rachel Covello, of Outcoast , a digital magazine that focuses on L.G.B.T.Q. community, said that the publication used to promote the state overall as an ‌inclusive destination. Now, while not telling people to say away, she said, it is highlighting specific destinations that are known to welcome L.G.B.T.Q. travelers.

“We pivoted our focus,” she said. “We don’t want to look like we’re blind to what’s happening in our own state as we’re promoting tourism.”

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2023 .

Tariro Mzezewa , a former national correspondent at The Times, is a reporter who writes about culture and style. More about Tariro Mzezewa

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Florida tourism numbers goes down slightly in 2023

(John Raoux)

TALLAHASSEE , Fla. — Visitors to Florida last year fell short of 2022′s record numbers, as a post-pandemic rebound in international travelers couldn’t overcome a noticeable drop-off in domestic tourism late in the year.