Canadians Dominate the Ranks of Florida’s International Arrivals In mid-August, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida had logged a record-breaking 34.2 million visitors in the second quarter of 2024 (April, May, June) – an all-time high for second-quarter visitation in the state’s history – and he attributed a large share of that ranking to two million international visitors, especially singling out the 739,000 Canadian visits during that three-month period alone. Taking a closer look at the broader impact of international tourism to Florida, Canada’s contribution stands out dramatically, with 3.23 million visits accounting for 28 per cent of all foreign visitors to Florida from around the globe in 2023. Next in line was the U.K. with 9%, Brazil with 8.8% and on down the list to Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, etc. In fact, in Q2, 2024, Canada accounted for a larger percentage of foreign visitors to Florida than the next four nations combined – U.K., Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. “These impressive numbers,” said DeSantis, “reflect the success of our efforts to prioritize public safety, freedom and common-sense leadership. These priorities make the Free State of Florida a most appealing place to visit.” With consumer confidence apparently reinvigorating over recent months, the Conference Board of Canada notes that Canadians are once again believing that now is a good time to make a major purchase, and Bank of Canada interest cuts have also proven helpful to encouraging travel aspirations. CBOC also notes that in the first half of 2024, Canadians took slightly more trips to U.S. than in 2018, and only slightly fewer than in 2019. Florida Portrayed as Safe Harbour Without getting into political discourse, which is pretty hard to do in chaotic election cycles, Governor DeSantis’ emphasis on “safety, freedom and common sense” has reverberated well in the years coming out of the Covid upheavals – during which Florida kept its schools and workplaces mostly open and economically viable. It has also appealed to residents of other states who have picked up their valuables and migrated to Florida, making it the fastest-growing state two years in a row (U.S. Census 2020) and now the third most-populous in the nation after California and Texas (replacing New York which, like high-tax California, has been draining population). Travel by Milan Korcok 20 | www.snowbirds.org
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